Busy bee

This past week or so I have been obsessed with ribbons and bows. :) I keep coming up with all these ideas for new bows, some nights it takes me hours to sleep b/c I keep thinking of something new I can make. I've stayed up till 1 am every night this week, just working on new projects. :)
I love making bows! Maybe I'm slightly obsessed...
I've been so busy w/ new products and listing and promoting that my house has been neglected. My laundry has piled up... Today I will be focusing on my house duties, all the while thinking of ribbons and bows. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Are you ready for fall?

Mommy corner- Bedtime

All right moms, I need help! We recently switched our daughter to a toddler bed, and it's been a challenge. She thinks bedtime and naptime are playtime. We put her in bed and as soon as we finish our bedtime routine, put her in bed and close the door, she comes out to play. It can take us up to 2 hours to get her to sleep, and it's exhausting b/c we don't get any down time at night... SO any advice on how to get her to sleep and it not being a battle would be awesome! :) I think one of the problems is that she can't relax, I'm not sure how to get her to. lol So please share on how you get your little ones to stay in their beds and go to sleep. Thanks! :)

Deal of the Day

As some of you have noticed, everyday I offer some kind of deal in my shop. You can see it updated each morning on the top righthand side corner of the blog. If you click the picture, it'll take you to the item in my shop. This week, I decided to make it a deal of the WEEK. Buy 1 turkey, get 2nd half off! It's a great deal! And better yet, you get to choose whatever feather colors you want! :)




You can also get it in an alligator clip, or a pin for the moms to wear :)

Monday- etsy finds

Are you shopping for some new clothes for your little one?! Have you seen Iziwizi Ecological's shop?
I recently found this great shop with such cute clothes! I got my daughter a really cute black and white dress and love it! I was totally impressed w/ it and will be shopping there again. Izi is so nice and great to work with!
Take some time and visit her shop! You won't be disappointed!

Check her out on facebook!
Follow her blog!

Giveaway!

Today is the LAST day to enter this giveaway!!!! Check it out!

Have you checked out Michael Regina's etsy store? He's got some great art prints and more coming!

The print pictured above is yours, FREE! Find out how at Creative Minds blog! Winning is easy!!

Has it really been 5 years?!

September 24th, is my 5 year wedding Anniversary. Sometimes it feels like we've been together forever and yet other times like we're still newlyweds... I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and all that he does. He is truly amazing and truly my prince charming. He is my best friend. I know I can always be completely honest with him about anything. He's the one I want to tell all my secrets to. And if I don't tell him something right away, I go crazy. lol I love sharing my life with him and can't wait for the rest of our lives together!
Happy 5 Years honey!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Favorite Activity

Mommy Corner- Toddler bed

About a week or so ago I posted about wether or not I felt ready to put my 22 month old in a toddler bed. This past week proved that we may be ready. So we converted her crib, into a toddler daybed. She LOVED climbing in and out. But getting her to stay in it for bedtime is the challenge. :) The first night, we went in 3 times to tell her to go back to sleep. So it wasn't too bad. The next day, it took 1 1/2 hours, 6-8 trips back into her room to get her to nap. Sigh! Then that night, we laid her down to sleep and she crashed right away! Today was day #2 napwise in her big girl bed. Took me 2 hours to get her to sleep.
Those of you who have been there, do you have any advice as to how to get her to go nap and not come out of the bed?

Since we converted the bed, I went ahead and rearranged her room. I LOVE rearranging rooms. I finally found a cute pink rug for her room AND got the cubed shelves I'd been wanting for so long. They were on sale at Target this weekend. :) So now all her toys and books are organized much better and I love it. Better yet, she loves it b/c it's more easily accessible for her and easier to clean up :)

New shelves, I just love these!!!

Big girl bed :)

Window...




Her room is still a work in progress. I've been doing it and redoing it since before she was born. lol On the wall above her toy shelf, we're going to put up some paintings that daddy is going to make.
The toy chest at under the window will also serve as a window seat.. Nona is making the cushion as we speak... That was the first thing I thought of after we found out I was having a girl... It's been 2 years in the making. :) I'm a bit slow...
AND I'm buying some different decorating knick nacks for the top of her dresser and stuff..

Monday Etsy finds...

... My Printed Memories!

At some point in our lives we all need some type of birth announcement or Christmas Card or any other type of cute cards to send to family and friends... I personally think the best type of cards to send, are personalized ones, with pictures of my family. The grandparents and great grandparents love getting Christmas cards or even birthday invitations with pictures of my daughter. :)

I have used My Printed Memories for several occasions and have never been disappointed. Take some time and check out her shop. If she doesn't have something you need, talk to her, she will do custom orders.

Giveaway!

Have you checked out Michael Regina's etsy store? He's got some great art prints and more coming!

The print pictured above is yours, FREE! Find out how at Creative Minds blog! Winning is easy!!

Trying to stay organized

When I became a mom, I thought maintaining the house would be a peace of cake, how hard could it be to take care of 1 kid... lol Little did I know!!! Now that my daughter is almost 2, I am still trying to find the balance b/t trying to keep the house clean and maintain my daily chores, and spend time with my daughter. If I spend too much time in the house, I feel like she's not getting enough attention and I feel guilty. If I spend all my time with her, then the house gets neglected and I feel guilty. lol So how do I find the balance!? Something that works for me is keeping a cleaning schedule.

Every day of the week is reserved for a specific chore. Or several specific chores... For example, Mondays, I sweep and vacuum, and I do all the laundry. Tuesdays are also reserved for finishing the laundry (b/c I know that I never finish it all on Mondays) and dusting and mopping... So each day I have some chores that don't take more than 2-3 hours... I usually do it in the mornings. I either have my daughter watch some TV or she has alone play time in her room. And it works, if I keep to the schedule, I feel organized and accomplished everyday. And then the afternoons are reserved for spending time with my daughter and cooking dinner. And she usually "helps" with dinner. Or just plays around the kitchen area... Some days I feel like I find the balance than others. There are always distractions, like the phone, facebook, etsy... lol
What do you feel works for you?

Wordless Wednesday

Someone has learned the word "Princess" in this house :)

Mommy corner

Yesterday I looked through the past 22 months of pictures of my baby girl. She has changed so much and grown so much so fast! Before her first birthday, when I looked at her birth pictures or pictures of her as an infant, I'd cry so much because it is all such a blur. But now I look at those pictures and smile. I feel so blessed to have a healthy, growing girl. She is at such a fun, and challenging age. I am excited for her 2nd birthday and so excited to continue to watch her grow.
Looking at her baby pictures still makes me a little sad, but I don't cry anymore. I think I just get overwhelmed at how fast everything goes. So I try to enjoy every moment, and make spending time with her fun.

I've also kept a journal since she was born and write down all the "firsts" or the funny things she does. Or I'll just write down a letter to her... I plan to continue writing for as long as possible and give it to her when she's an adult. Maybe for her 18th birthday. I don't write on it everyday, but a few times a month. That way I can go back and read all the entries and remember everything. It's really fun to read back and see all the things she's done.

Monday etsy finds...

There is this great "hang out" place for fellow etsyans or if you just love shopping... Have you seen Creativeminds?
It's a great website so creative people can meet, advertise and network. When visit, you will fall in love with all the items displayed! She finds such awesome things on etsy.

So it's the best of both worlds. If you own an etsy shop, you can contact her and learn how to get your items displayed. OR if you LOVE to SHOP on etsy, you can go browse and find awesome shops!

Take a minute and visit Creative Minds today!

Beef Stew

As the weather starts to cool down (hopefully) I get more and more excited! I LOVE fall and everything that comes with it... I am looking forward to taking out my crockpot and making all these yummy, warm, comfort dishes. I LOVE beef stew!!!




Ingredients

1 pound cubed beef stew meat
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups water
1 onion, finely diced
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
3 carrots, quartered
3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
Directions

Dredge beef in flour and then, in a medium stock pot, brown beef on all sides in shortening. Add salt, pepper, water, onion, paprika, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and bay leave. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until meat is tender.
Add carrots and potatoes and simmer for 45 minutes or until tender.
Remove bay leave and meat from stew, add 1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch and mix, in order to thicken stew. After mixing let sit for a few minutes to thicken, if not to desired thickness add more flour or cornstarch and repeat.
Once thickened return meat and add corn to stew, heat through and serve.

recipe and picture courtesy of allrecipes.

Dentist

Today I had a dentist appt for a filling. I HATE the dentist, but I finally found one that I really like. I have always been terrified of them and along with my fear of needles, it makes going a nightmare. Today, I did a filling with no anesthesia at all. :) I've come a long way! Everything went fine, I was not afraid, there was no pain. I LOVE my new dentist. He has even noticed and commented on how less scared and nervous I seem. :)

What are you scared of? Do you have any weird phobias? :) I am terrified of needles, blood, clowns, bugs.. I have more quirks, but I'll spare you. I want to know what your fears are...

Wordless Wednesday

Kisses for Handy Manny

Mommy Corner

As my daughter gets older (22 months now), I am noticing that she wants to be more and more independent. She has always been very strong willed and I've always noticed that she is independent. But lately, she is even more so. And the child has no fear! It scares me. I was not like that, so at this age it scares me b/c she can get herself in a lot of trouble. I HATE how independent and fearless she is. BUT my husband has told me that is how God has made her and it may be that when she's an adult, she'll need to be this way. I worry about everything, everything overwhelms me. She is such a sweet little girl and so loving. And she is not shy at all. She will talk to anybody, which frustrates me. She will go up to people at the mall play area and ask them to pick her up. Thankfully they don't and I watch her like a hawk b/c I run if anyone tries to touch her. :) Yes, I am THAT mom. I guess I wish she was a little bit shy... She has such a fun personality, but as I've said, parts of that scares me.

Anyways, for happier news, we have recently taken her to Disney where she got some little toys with the playhouse Disney characters. She LOVES it. It's all she plays with, all day long. She lines them up on the coffee table and names them over and over again. It's the cutest thing. Her favorite is Handy Manny. She goes around singing the song, "do do do do Handy Manny..." But it's the one song she knows all the words to. :)

Mommy's model

Due to the long weekend, I've been away from the computer... We went on a day trip to Disney, celebrated my hubby's birthday and just enjoyed the time off. I don't really have an etsy find for Monday this week, but here is my daughter wearing the dress I made her and her new kicks! :)

She carries her blanket everywhere...

Modeling her bow I made to match the dress :)

Matching dress and bow

I got the itch to do some sewing the other night. A friend came over and was showing me a new pattern to use. The dress is for my daughter and is SO cute! It is pink with zebra print accents. There are no pictures yet b/c I'm not finished hemming. BUT last night I made a matching hairbow and LOVE it! What do you think?

Ok, I took the pictures inside out of lazyness, but I made it out of the leftover fabric. Bottom is about 5" and zebra print. Topped with 3" pink. I made the bow interchangeable and put a Minnie mouse clippie on top.


Interchangeable, she can wear it with or without the minnie mouse. Can you guess where we're going soon!? :)


Much better pic of the bow w/ the finished dress! :)

Wordless Wednesday

My daughter's new kicks, I LOVE it!!!