Gluten and Dairy free

Earlier this year, after some research and issues baby sister was having, I took her off dairy, and she did so much better!!!  She's not allergic to dairy, but def has an intolerance.  She was still having a lot of issues with allergies, so after much thought and research, I decided to take her off gluten to see if that would help.  It's been almost 1 month since taking her off gluten, it's been very hard and challenging to learn a whole new diet.  And finding recipes that is both gluten and dairy free is a challenge.  But we're doing it, and baby sister is finally showing signs of improving.  It's so exciting to see her "normal" now...

I have a friend who traveled this "road" a few years ago with her son.  So she's been a great help.  And pinterest is GREAT to research gluten and dairy free recipes.  Some nights our dinner was a hit, others, not so much. lol 

Do you have any gluten free recipes? :)

So girly

For Easter I gave both girls and myself a pedi.  They both like their toes painted, but for whatever reason this time, they both whined the whole time. lol  But it got done.  I recently bought nail stickers, per my daughter's request and I thought they looked so cute!

My daughter chose red and I did French.

I have always wanted to French braid my daughter's hair.  I watched some youtube tutorials and practiced and finally got the hang of it.  I love how cute she looks in her pigtail braids. :) 

Having girls is so fun, I love all the girly things we get to do!  :)

Pretty R

With the holidays over, I needed a new door hanging.  I LOVE wreaths and love making my own.  I wanted something different this time.  I am in love with chevron and black and white are my favorite colors.. So I went to work on an idea I had. :)

I bought a wooden "R" for our last name.  It's $7 at Joann's.  I debated b/t this or the cardboard one that is more 3D, but I decided that this would be easier to paint.

I spray painted the R white.  It took 2 coats.  

 Then it came time draw the chevron lines.  I couldn't figure it out and being that my husband is an artist, I asked him to help me :)  So he did this part.  

Hubby hard at work for me.  I was so excited!!!  

 I hot glued red ribbon to the back and then tied a bow.  This is how the "R" will hang on my door.

With the same pretty red ribbon, I made 3 rosettes to put on the "R".  I LOVE rosettes :) And they are so easy to make.  I hot glued them on the letter "R"

Ta Da!! All done and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  :)  I go outside often to look at my pretty front door :) I love the simple and elegant look of it.

Back to sewing

I have been in LOVE with chevron for a long time.  I wanted to make the girls a chevron dress, but could never find the fabric locally.  Then Hobby Lobby started carrying it :)  SO exciting!  So this past weekend I bought the fabric and went to work.  I wanted a simple peasant style dress b/c I wanted to show off the fabric.  I made the sleeves 3/4 sleeves so that they can wear it through out the year.  

I absolutely LOVE the colors :)  My oldest daughter asks everyday when she can wear her new dress.  I am planning on making these their valentine's dress.  See their bows?  I found chevron ribbon at Hobby Lobby :) 

Cake pops!

Have you seen those cake pop makers in the store and wondered it they work?  The answer is yes :)

I got one for Christmas from my mil and tried it for the first time tonight.  My 4 year old had a blast helping me, and my 1 year old enjoyed watching me add the sprinkles.  They both ate to their hearts content :)

The pop mix and the pop maker.  Seriously, it works awesomelly! 

 My helper mixing the batter

Cake pops all done!  It seriously takes 3-4 minutes to bake them in here.  And the batter is fully cooked.  So great! 

 Once the cake pops are done, freeze for 30 min.  Then add the frosting and sprinkles.

Cake pops galore...

 She taught herself to climb the step stool just so she could snatch one of these up. lol  Baby sister is a crafty one :)

Lovies

Our family on Christmas day.  Oh how I love them!!!! 

BTW baby sister was not very cooperative for pictures.  She was just over all the commotion...lol

BOWquet

Have you guys seen my fb page yet?  It's a fun way to keep up with BOWquet :)
You can order bows from there as well as etsy.

Check out BOWquet on fb and become a follower for fun updates and the latest bows!

These cuties are all ready to ship and perfect for any occasion.

COFFEE

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am a coffee lover. :)  About 2 years ago, hubby gave me a keurig for my birthday.  I love it!

Last week a friend of mine introduced me to the most amazing home made coffee I've ever had.  Made using a French Press.  It is SO good!  I ended up going to her house twice in the same week and having a lot of that coffee.  Hubby saw how much I enjoyed it, so for Christmas, he bought me my own french press coffee maker. 

I took it to my sister's house on Christmas and she watched me as I prepared the coffee, saying that it's just too much 'work' to do it.  You should've seen her face when she took her first sip. lol  She LOVED it and is now wanting her very own. lol

Hair

Last night I got some much needed pampering :) My sister and I went to get our haircuts.  We tried a new salon and loved it!  It's been almost 2 years since my last haircut.  I love my new do!  I also got highlights for the first time.  I was nervous b/c hubby wasn't a fan of highlights, but he liked it :)
I chopped off over 10 inches that I will be donating.

Before and After

wordless wednesday

Aren't they so cute?

Mantel overhaul

SO pinterest has been my inspiration lately.  BUT I gave my mantel a Christmas makeover and came up with everything all by MYSELF :) Total cost of my makeover $2!
I've always put a garland on my mantel with white christmas lights.. But this year, I not only wanted to add to it b/c it's kind of boring, but I'm in LOVE with everything Santa this year and wanted some reds and stuff. :)
SO here it is:

I had these 3 wine glasses from my halloween craft for my mantel.  I used it rightside up this time ;)  So I filled it with red shredded paper (bought at $1 tree).  I wrapped black ribbon around it and hot glued the ribbon together.  It's NOT glued onto the glass b/c I want to reuse the glasses for other projects.  I glued a rhinestone on there for the belt buckle and it looks like Santa's belly :) 

 I did the same thing with this vase I already had at home.  Don't you just LOVE reusing stuff you have at home?

 And there you have it!  Some life added to the garland.  I already had everything but the red paper at home, so I just bought 2 bags of that for a total of $2 :)  LOVE it! 

 A look at the entire mantel.  I just bought that Santa on sale and I LOVE him! :) The  2 stockings on the left were bought at Target for $1 each about 3 years ago.  I bought iron on letters from etsy.  The 2 pink tutu stockings I made last year for the girls.  I bought the pink stockings at Target for $1 each.  Then I hot glued tulle on there like a tutu and hot glued little rhinestones with the girls initials :)  

Up close of my wine glass santa

 up close of the vase

 My new Santa :)

 On my buffet table in my dining room I have 3 paintings, which I'll have to post later :).  I have my husband's Santa Claus print framed.  Then what you see here are each of my girls handprint Christmas trees.  I found this Santa for 60% off at Joann's, so I paid $5.  I thought this was the perfect spot for him.  I love his beard and he's just so cute. :) 

1 week

In 1 week my sweet baby girl will be having minor surgery.  She's had a lesion on her chin since September, and after several doctor's appts, dermatologist, biopsy, and plastic surgeon, it's finally time to remove it off her little face.  I'm SO excited to have her little face back to normal.  But I am freaking out!  I cried all morning after speaking to the doctor's office.  she'll be put under anesthesia, I will have to hand her over and wont' be there with her.  I can barely leave my kids with family, and now I'll be handing her over to a bunch of strangers to cut and slice her.  I KNOW she'll be ok, but I'm a mom.  And I am freaking out. I hate not being able to be there w/ her as she falls asleep with the anesthesia.  I get why I can't be there, I just hate that she won't have mommy holding her and instead she'll be around strangers. :(  I just hope they let me be there with her when she wakes up... For now I'll be on freak out mode until it's done!

New listings...

I have been busy making some new bows.  I've been listing them more on my facebook page instead of etsy.  

What do you guys think?

You can check out my facebook page for these and more!  I've been listing new ones daily and I also do special sales 2-3 nights a week. :)  Check us out here! 

christmas bows

I've been busy making some new cuties!  I have these ready to ship in my shop!

Cute Rudolph for $4.50 plus shipping

 Christmas tree $4 plus shipping!

Check out BOWquet for these and more cuties!  Bows are also great stocking stuffers :)

Wordless Wednesday

Our attempt at family photos looked a bit like this, with lots of tears :)

helper

The last time I sewed I had a little helper... Speaking of which, I need to do some sewing soon :)

Park Day

We took the girls to the park this weekend and I got some cool pictures.

 Me and my sweet girls going down the slide! 

Gobble gobble

About 2-3 weeks ago I couldn't sleep.  I started thinking of ways I can make a dress for the girls.  I knew I wanted to make a "turkey" dress, and laid wide awake mentally "drawing" this dress.  It came out just like I pictured it :)

They wore it on Sunday and it was a big hit! They'll be wearing it again on thanksgiving :)

Wordless Wednesday

Oh how I love them!!!