Weekend High{&Low}Lights

Project Fail

So I made my first pair of pants out of this adorably boyish fabric. I noticed towards the end that I may had trimmed one {the right} of the legs too short since I still needed to hem them. My mom suggested turning them into long surfer style shorts. Perfect! Only when I went to try them on Ezra before finalizing the elastic waist, I found that I made the crotch waaaay too short! It barely covers half of a regular diaper; didn't even try it with his cloth. Eek!

I even lined these pants with dark brown fabric. Oh well. Live and learn. I purchased another 1/2 yard in two different fabrics in the hopes to get it right soon.

Tea Time

{gabbing while waiting for a refill}

{good stuff!!}

Late one afternoon, W and I sat down for some tea. Ezra wanted to join; he really loves tea. Or well, really loves to drink whatever we have. So we used one of our espresso cups for his mug. He had like 574 refills so basically he and I split my herbal tea. It was a fun family time.

Knife Incident
{gross picture coming...}

W chopped off part of his finger and nail this weekend while making breakfast. Poor guy. Not sure how typing up tax returns is going to go this week. :(

Snow!

{No picture, dang it!}

While out on one of our walks this weekend, we happened upon some snow! See, there's this car wash near our house and there must have been a car coming right off the mountains because there were huge chunks in the street. We grabbed a few and Ezra held his very first snowball! We really need to head to Uncle Frank and Aunt Kaycie's soon. They have plenty of snow up there and thanks to cousin Daniel {who lives in Indiana}, Ezra has snow-gear up to 4T.

Busy Bee

Winter just must be good for crafting/sewing, because I'm on a roll... 

Ezra Project #2 for this week:

Man, I do love the internet. Because, let's just be honest, without all these amazing and free tutorials, I would be making nada. Zip. Zero. I probably wouldn't even own a sewing machine. But now, I have a bookmark folder just for sewing and another for non-sewing crafts on my laptop. And they're full of fun ideas that hopefully I'll get to, eventually...at least, maybe a few of them.

And can nesting actually kick in at only 13 weeks? I mean, I consider myself a tidy person, not really a clean-freak. Just tidy. Clear surfaces; things in their places. But I've been really cleaning lately. Maybe I'm just foreseeing the future when that last month of pregnancy and the first three after baby #2 come. See, I know what to expect this time. I know the only thing I will be lifting is that baby to nurse or change a diaper. The only thing I'll be pinning is my three-day-old hair back and in a pony. And my machine and craft and cleaning supplies will be collecting dust. In large quantities. 

Anywho.

I'm really going to enjoy trying out some of these bookmarked ideas for the next six months!

Seating Available Here

Ezra now has his very own floor cushion!!

I used this Land-of-Nod inspired tutorial. And I conquered more firsts in my novice sewing adventure.

1) piping- not as intimidating to work with as I thought

2) sewing in a shape other than a rectangle...lost my cool at some parts, not gonna lie.

3) working with thicker fabric...which was so fun to shop for. A whole different section in the store!

Ezra has already discovered multiple uses for his new cushion.

Use it as a table...

As an educational tool for learning more animals...

Or for a quick head rest...

I think he likes it!

{Although he'll have to grow into it a bit more for sturdy sitting}

I really want to make some more! Maybe two more to make E a set of three? And baby-growing-in-my-belly should definitely get one. Although I'll have to wait until April to find out what kind of fabric I can chose from!

What *We* Wore Wednesdays

 Date night: Okay, I don't know if it's because I'm already feeling/looking big or because it was rainy or because I just didn't have anything to wear or what. But I went through a good portion of the closet before I could settle on anything. Grumph. But there is a positive: a small little pile has been started for donations. Less clothes, cleaner closet! Hooray! Which is partly the point of doing this, right?!

Alright, onto what I settled on:

black elastic headband: goody, target

necklace: twisted

black velvet jacket  {that I can't button}: target

sweater: banana republic

green tank top: target, thrifted

jeans: chip & pepper

boots: vintage, paris flea market

Hubby wanted to join the fun! Here's his casual Friday work outfit turned date night outfit. I think he just wanted ya'll to get a hoot out of his tie. ;)

hat: Cavender's, Texan purchase {along with my gifted boots}

trench: thrifted 

bob the tomato tie: thrifted

collared shirt: J. Crew outlet 

Jeans: old navy

boots: justin ropers, boot barn

watch: timex, thrifted

black leather braclet: anni gift

Church outfit...but we actually missed it this morning because E somehow slept over two hours for his morning nap...

earrings: drop pearls, twisted

bracelet: the wilma, twisted

brown tank: target

blouse: target, but i didn't like the sleeve-ends so I cut the elastic out to make it more bohemian

capris: kohl's maternity, gifted

heels: payless

And that's that.

Craft Your Heart Out

Yup. That's exactly what I did all day yesterday with my girlfriend, Erin. Craft. All.Day.Long. It was fabulous! E put in a great marathon morning nap so we completed 3 headbands and 3/4 of a bib necklace. 

headband tutorials used: victorian lace and button.

Then we headed back to the craft store when we discovered we needed more supplies. E was back down for an afternoon nap, and we finished the rest of the projects. Lovely. And I just have to say that Erin seriously came out of the craft closet. She was a complete natural and within two projects, was already going rogue. I was way impressed with her mad skills. 

Only negative from the day was that I was waaaay too pooped to finish my sewing project that evening. But so worth it to delay another day for such an awesome craft date!

W thought our loot was pretty rockin' too.

Aight, it's not...

an adorable bow-tie for Ezra that I'm making, but it's something fun nonetheless...

The prep part took lots of pins and LOTS of patience!

Definitely an evening project, not a nap one. Onto the sewing!

5 Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. My new iron

W is going through collared shirts like it's his job. Oh wait, yes, it is part of his job. So that means I really can't get away without ironing anymore. My mom took me to a Macy*s two day sale and I snagged this for $4.50 instead of the original $75 price tag. Thanks to sales and the 3 gift cards I'd be hoarding. So the only iron that we've had our entire marriage, W's thrift store vintage travel iron, will be laid to rest. Unless, of course, anyone is interesting in inheriting it...anyone?! Don't be shy...

2. Strawberries are back in full swing at our local farmers market!!

We bought three crates on Saturday morning and had three empty ones out in the can on the curb Sunday night for trash day. Poor hubby only got a few from the batch. Guess we'll buy more this weekend.

3. E's obsession with hats and shoes!

He seriously can't get enough of them. Any toy that could be put on his feet, goes right on. Like he's practicing or something. Every time we walk by our coat-rack with Papa's hats, he squawks and points until we get them down for him. His favorite is Papa's cowboy hat.

4. This adorable boys' bow-tie tutorial

I've been itching to make Ezra something and thought this would be fun. Maybe in time for Easter Sunday?


5. Dog Days Are Over

Current favorite song! Reminds me a lot of Adele whom I also love. Anyway, it's the song that plays on the preview of "Eat, Pray, Love" and I heard it on the radio again last week. Have been playing it ever since! Sample it here.

What I Wore Wednesdays

This past weekend, the Swenson house became the sicky/napping house so we didn't get out much. Which means we missed my Dad's 60th Birthday Party. I'm beyond bummed. It's not every day someone you love turns really old and hits a milestone {mean that in the most loving way, Pops!}. So before we hit infirmary status over here, I did go out Friday night with a girlfriend I hadn't seen in forever. It was so great to catch up!

elastic headband: goody, target

earrings: world market, gifted

brown sweater: no name label, ross

wrap: bp, nordies

jeans: chip & pepper; gifted from local maternity boutique

boots: airwalk, payless

V-Day Dinner

For Valentine's, W pulled out this giant culinary coffee table cookbook {which I had no idea even existed up until this point} and made one of most amazingly delicious meals. Truly felt like we were eating at a fine dining restaurant. 

Pasta with Asparagus & Mushrooms

What You Need:

2 T olive oil {plus extra for pasta}

1 c sliced mushrooms

3 cloves of garlic, diced

2 c heavy cream

1 lb. asparagus, stem ends trimmed & cut into 1 in pieces

2 T Dijon mustard

2 T butter

3/4 c freshly grated parmesan cheese

1lb. fettucine

chopped parsley for garnish

What To Do:

Heat olive oil in large skillet

Add mushrooms and saute until golden brown { about 7 mins.}

Add garlic and cook about 2 mins. longer; stir occasionally

Add cream and boil 4 minutes

Add asparagus and cook until tender; about 4 mins. more

Add mustard, butter, and cheese until liquid is reduced to sause consistency.

Meanwhile cook pasta in large pot of boiling water until tender

Drain; drizzle with olive oil

Serve pasta topped with sauce.

Sprinkle with parsley

Serve.

Devour.

We lit some candles and enjoyed a lovely meal. Dessert was chocolate eclairs. It really did feel like we were somewhere else...until the whole 'cleaning the dishes' part. 

Maybe I'll just pretend we went out, forgot our wallets, and decided not to dine-and-dash. :)

Happy Love Day!

"All You Need Is Love"

-The Beatles

Happy Valentine's Day

from our family to yours!!