I should be packing...

So much has happened since the hubs returned from the sandbox :)  I could blog for days.  But considering how often he is home, I'd rather be snuggled up with him.  Sorry if I'm being selfish :P.  We are about to take a mini-vacation for a few days, so I thought I better get a blog up before I get too behind!  So here-goes...


My Halloween photo smash-up!

1) Gettin' Crafty: In my ongoing battle with my desire to have a daughter, I continue to live vicariously though my friends, making girlie outfits for their little girls.  I crocheted a hat and sewed a matching pillowcase dress for my little Haileigh girl.

2) BOO at the ZOO:  Last year, just a few days before the hubs departed, we took our boy to the local zoo to do some trick-or-treating.  While it is nothing in comparison to the Halloween Party our hometown zoo puts on every year, it was still a very enjoyable event.  And considering it would be so close to his homecoming, I've been looking forward to partaking in this for last 365 days!  My son demanded months ago that he would be Robin and daddy would be batman.  Daddy did not argue, but insisted I be his batgirl.  While the hubs and I did not go all out costume-wise for the zoo's event, we are attending a friend's party soon, where we intend on going in full batman/batgirl costume. My son has sense changed his mind on his costume and has chosen a new costume for the 31st.  Considering my love for Halloween costumes, I had no argument in a costume change request.   I'll keep this costume a secret until a later posting.

3)  I made little pumpkin and bat cookies to go in gift baskets to give to the neighbors.

4) Cake jars for the gift baskets...I'll try to post more details about these baskets later.

Zen Pillows and other preparations...

Since I was in High School, my room has always been decorated with a tropical theme.  I love to feel like I'm in a beachfront hotel all the time.  It was always the same idea, just different decor.  Even once we were married, we had a tropical bedroom.  Well, for the first time in 10 years, I took the palm tree plant out of the bedroom and replaced it with something different...Bamboo.  I decided on an Asian theme because I wanted my home to have a lot of relaxing and natural colors.  I painted the walls gold, purchased a white comforter & a bamboo plant from Ikea, and added some browns, tans, reds, and beige colors throughout the room.  I didn't like the original throw pillows on the bed, so I've been on a hunt to replace them for months.  Well, the hubs is coming home soon and I'm running out of time to make this house perfect.  So I decided I'd just make my own.  I absolutely love the pillows I found over at Dear Lillie, so I used them as my motivation.  I purchased some iron-on printer paper, muslin fabric and covered some old pillows I had in my studio. I printed Chinese symbols on 3 pillows.  The symbols supposedly say, "Love, Friend, and Goodnight", but I don't speak Chinese, so who knows if they are accurate.  I chose these phrases because my husband and I always tell eachother "I love you, you're my best friend, goodnight" every night before we fall asleep.  It's a long story how this came about, but trust me, it's our thang!  Anyhow,  If you decide you want to partake in this project, remember to flip your image before printing because you iron it face down.   I'm not going to do a tutorial because it's pretty cut and dry.  But here's a photo step-by-step just in case you need a visual.

Some fellow Army wives/girlfriends and I went to the nail salon today to get our nails and eyebrows done in preparation for the homecomings this month.  My son was so kind to snap a photo for me.

I just have a few more tasks to take care of this week (repainting the coffee table, highlight my hair, detail his truck inside and out, etc) and I should be all set for the hubby!!

Homemade Cookbook

When my husband and I were first married, I scrapbooked a lot.  So when I started accumulated a lot of recipes, I thought it'd be a neat project to make a scrapbook/cookbook.  At the time, I had never heard of anyone making one of these, so I was pretty proud of my unique project idea.  I see them more and more in scrapbook stores nowadays, but I promise, I thought of it first : P   Well anyways, after 5 years of marriage, the scrapbook has became fairly thick.  It's filled with recipes from blogs, neighbors, friends, family members, magazines, etc. In the beginning I used a binder with the plastic slip-in cover so I could slide in a pretty cover.  But I got bored last night and decided to sew up a new cover.  I attempted a tutorial of this project, but I'm not a very experienced seamstress and I'm not so good at tutorials, so forgive me if this isn't the greatest tutorial ever.  I did my best.  The cookbook isn't completely finished, however.  I'd like to add some embroidery to the side and perhaps a button clasp.  The pocket shown on the front is not actually sewn on yet, in case I decide to have it embroidered.  If you want a pocket on yours, make sure you sew it on before step 5.

 Supplies needed: At least 2 colors of fabric about a yard total should do.  You'll also need a binder.  Buttons and ribbons are optional. 

 

For the first step, lay your fabric out flat and place your binder on top.

 Leaving about an inch of edging, cut around the binder

 Now fold that edge inward, meeting at the binder edge and pin them in place.

  

Sew the trim down all the way around. (If you want a pocket or ribbons or buttons on the cover, do this before moving on to the next step.)

 Lay the fabric down again (facing up) and place the binder back on top.  Cut your second color of fabric  to match the size of one side of the binder, leaving about an inch and a half of space from the center like shown above.  Face the material down (like I've shown you above) and fold the edge over, pin and sew down.

 Pin the edges of the top and bottom together.   Slide the binder out and sew the edges together. 

 Repeat on the other side and flip the fabric inside out.  Slide your binder back in and tada!

 

Here's the inside of my cookbook.  To keep it personal, it includes photos of family members baking cookies...I'll go into more details about the contents of my cookbook on another day.