what Natalie made

I have shared some of Natalie's hand sewing projects here before, but months ago, my mom got her started on the sewing machine and there has been no stopping her! Well, there has been stopping her, actually, because she has rather grandiose ideas and if I don't redirect, she'll pull out my nice fabrics and start designing a ball gown or something equally extravagant ;)

But, as I was cleaning out my fabric stash (more on cleaning out to come), I came across a small bin of leftover squares from my nine-patch quilt and asked Natalie if she'd like to make a doll quilt. And so we did! She did all the sewing, I only helped some with pressing and rotary cutting the borders.

Ariel finds it quite snuggly, but I have a feeling this quilt will belong to another doll very soon because Natalie's birthday is this Saturday!! Which partly accounts for the blog silence, because I have been sewing up 18" doll clothes like mad, cutting out photo booth props and painting washer necklace samples with nail polish. Can't wait for the party!!

Cheers! :)

Do not grow weary

I would say this homeschool week was just short of an utter failure. Our weekend was jammed packed from Thursday to Sunday and so I had zero time to plan school for this week. When that happens, barely the bare minimum gets done and what we do manage is haphazard at best.

This morning I was discouraged. I had a lot to do today. School goes really well when there's nothing else going on, but add in anything else--a holiday, a birthday, a weekend trip,  illness, ministry commitments, co op, errands, a house in desperate need of cleaning-- and it can sometimes feel pretty impossible.

After spending some time in Scripture this morning, I began cleaning the kitchen and came upon this and almost cried...

Natalie always draws on the papers in the bulletin on Sunday mornings and this was in the pile from last Sunday. So see?? I AM teaching her something! Clearly not spelling, ha! But what's important is getting through. Praise the Lord :)

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. 

Galations 1:9-10

dairy, gluten, Paleo-Schmaleo

Hi! I'll just dig right in :) I have embarked on a dairy-free and gluten-free lifestyle and although it's been about 6 weeks now, I've been debating about whether or not to share much about it here or not. BUT, I have hit on such great recipes and food ideas that I just can't resist any longer :)

For a basic explanation, I went dairy free in January in hopes of healing some chronic, life-long sinus issues that I just plain got tired of living with. Cutting dairy did not fix that particular issue, but to my surprise, solved several other issues that I really never even realized were issues--namely, every PMS symptom I had (and I have had several very irritating ones for about a year now) simply disappeared, along with any and all stomach pain, bloating and general discomfort that I just thought was part of life.

But, I still had the sinus problem. So, I moved on to gluten. This change was much more difficult for me! Gluten withdrawals are a real thing!! I felt pretty cruddy for about ten days and felt like I couldn't eat anything but eggs and salads. No dairy, no gluten, no sugar--it was hard to think out of the box! But started being more diligent about my daily vitamins and started playing with variety in foods that I could still eat and then began to feel much, much better. Three weeks in ... SINUS PAIN AND PRESSURE WERE COMPLETELY GONE!!!!! Plus, I wake up easier in the mornings, have zero headaches (I used to get headaches almost every day), my blood sugar stays stable throughout the day and I no longer must eat every two hours for fear of what might happen. I have more energy, less mood swings and just generally feel good.

So what I eat now is mostly meat, veggies, eggs, nuts/seeds and fruits. This is basically what is known these days as the "Paleo" lifestyle. As a disclaimer, I am a creationist and believe in a young earth and so cannot agree with the Paleo principles based on agriculture being a new practice. I believe it's as old as the Old Testament :) However, the "Frankenwheat" that we have been chemically changing over the last several decades into what we now ingest, is certainly not what God intended, which is why wheat makes so many people sick today.

ANYWAY, that was long, so if you're still reading, here are just a couple super yummy things I have cooked recently!

The sweet potato chips from Everyday Paleo were amaaaaaazing and we all loved them:

 Just the smell of that coconut oil in the pan makes the house smell irresistible! Seriously yummy.

We have also experimented with Brussel Sprouts. These chips were a great recipe! All the kids totally gobbled them up and ask for them every grocery day. (This photo is from Pinterest, it is not mine)

Source: abeautifulmess.com via Nikki on Pinterest

Another yummy Pinterest find were these mushrooms. I made them one evening to go with the coconut flaked fish sticks I had made and then ate the rest with my eggs on pastrami with spinach the next morning. Yummmmm. (Again, not my photo)

Source: simpleprovisions.com.au via Nikki on Pinterest

Today for lunch, I baked a salmon patty (from the frozen section) and had a bunless burger with avocado, lettuce, tomato, bean sprouts, fresh lemon juice and the Lemon Garlic Aoli (also from Everyday Paleo). 

I'll definitely be sharing more because if you're wanting to eat healthier or try solving some health issues with food, I am a believer in the Paleo way of eating! I am slowly transitioning my family to eating this way most of the time. I haven't made a big deal about it, and will never be crazy strict about it--everything in moderation ;) but I'm actually having an easier time getting them to eat these dishes than I ever did with the gloppier foods we used to eat! The kids are eating a lot more veggies without really even realizing it.

Everyday Paleo, the blog and the cookbook have been super helpful for me. There are a few more blogs and cookbooks and resources that I'll share in another post. Plus, these are just a couple of the amazing things we've been eating so I can't wait to share more! If you want to check out my Yum board on Pinterest, you'll notice the recent pins are all Paleo too.

peplum

This is my second attempt at a peplum top. I made the first one out of denim and while it looks cute on the hanger, I've yet to wear it. I think the denim just made the peplum stick out and it hit the widest part of my hips and just widened me in all the wrong places! But, when the Spring New Look line came out, I thought 6198 would work better than the previous pattern I had used (which had pleats on the peplum, only adding to the wideness).

Anyway, I wasn't sure I loved this at first, but I've already worn it several times--to our homeschool co op, to a baby shower and last night to an ARMY spouses' dinner. So, I guess it's a keeper! I just had to get used to the shape, I think.

My yellow cord skirt is still probably one of the most worn and versatile pieces I have ever made!! Love it. I actually did make this skirt again and since I'm behind and know I probably won't get around to posting everything individually, I'll just share some stragglers here while I'm at it :)

I like this skirt, but not quite as much as my yellow one. The top is another Renfrew! I really liked it. But, I didn't preshrink the fabric because I wasn't ever planning on putting it in the dryer. And then I put it in the dryer!!! Dumb. It shrunk up. I think I can maybe add a band to the bottom though, I can't remember if I had extra fabric or not.

And! I made another of these maxi skirts (don't think I made all this super recently, cause it's been over three months or so! I'm just behind in sharing!) Here's a kinda fuzzy Layla pic:

I think that's it! At least, that's all I have pictures of. I made another lace Renfrew that I keep wearing and keep forgetting to photograph. And I'm wearing another me-made outfit today!

I did take a clothing break and work on the remaining blocks for Jenn and my collaborative quilt project. And, I made some cute knit skirts for my girls for Valentines Day. Then I made a Kelby a super cute hat!! Can't wait to give those to them. Next up is some pillows for our family room couch and then doll clothes for Natalie's birthday!! Should I even show you how my 18" doll clothes pattern collection has grown?? It could get embarrassing... think I'll keep it to myself ;) Darn you, JoAnn and your 99 cent pattern sales!!

Asymmetry

I am way behind on sharing some clothes I've made recently! This is the most recent, but it's my favorite thing I've made in awhile so I'm starting with it anyway. This is McCall's 6659, part of the new Spring line of patterns. I was drawn to the asymmetry right away. I used a rayon that I got in Reno when I visited Jenn last month, at her wonderful fabric store called Mill End. The prices for these super nice fabrics were unbelievable! This one was 3.99 a yard!! I like how the simpler print allows the pleats to show.

 I wore it to church yesterday with boots and a cardigan. The leather belt, by the way, and in case Casey's family is wondering where they've seen it before, was Casey's when he was a kid--his Dad made it! for him! I think it's adorable :)

Because elastic helps shape the waist, I think this is a comfy everyday option, which will be great for Summer rather than some of my more structured dresses.
If you'd like to see my notes on this pattern, my review is here. I definitely would like to try the one-shoulder version for a Summer date dress.

You can expect a few more finished garments on the blog this week! Happy February :)

Homeschool Home

I was looking for pictures online of other homeschoolers' schooling spaces. I couldn't find much! Lots of people post ideas for homeschool rooms, usually from Pottery Barn Kids catalogs and other such too-perfect-to-be-reality places, but I want to see actual homeschoolers who are making their homes work for them. This might be because most homeschoolers I know don't have a specific room for schooling, but make their spaces work for them in all kinds of ways. We use our living room/dining room area, although school branches out into many other rooms in our house too, ha!

Today, after switching a couple desks around, I decided to take some pics of our multipurpose living and dining room area.

This is my "teacher desk"...

The big metal 60's desk above was a found object (found on a friend's stoop, destined for the dumpster.) I painted it with leftover wall paint (see left wall in photo below). We were using it for a crafting/sewing space for the girls (mainly Natalie), but she really needed some drawers. And, when I plan school and have the laptop and books open, I really needed more surface space. So we traded today. The one front drawer is just fine for me and the smaller desk fits better in her sewing nook anyway:

Here's where some of the schooling action takes place, although we do a lot of reading and Internet exploring cuddled up on the couch.  The huge map is from IKEA. We put "story disks" on the places where our studies lead us. Five in a Row uses these story disks, but we make our own with the blank ones they provide when we divert to other unit studies.

Today we put a story disk on Mexico! We've had some fun studying Mexico; I plan on putting a little post together of the ideas I've used. 

We use the little chalkboard easel a LOT.

I have plans to turn this huge tray into a lazy susan, which will make it even cooler!

 The coffee table sees a lot of schooling action too.

And, without doubt, one of our favorite spots in our entire house--our record table. This has become a beloved hobby for our little family, both collecting and listening to records. I highly recommend you get a record player--it's education, fun, culture and so much more, all in one! :D

 There's a new little thrift store by us that has hundreds of records for 49 cents each!! It's so fun digging through them all, since all five of us look for different kinds of things.

Our home decor has evolved a ton over the last few years as we've delved deeper into homeschooling. It's important to me that these rooms be highly functional, but still pretty to look at at the same time. If I have to have a trash can, why not make it a cute, red, polka-dot one, am I right? ;)

Reno

I had the chance to visit a very close friend in Reno last weekend. I've talked about Jenn here before, but to recap--Jenn and I met when I was newly married and living in Georgia, just before both our husbands deployed to Iraq in 2003. It was a friendship planned by God, we are both convinced. I do not know how either of us would have gotten through that time without each other! Ten years and six children later, we try to see each other every year or two.

Jenn turned 35 and her husband bought me a ticket to visit as a surprise for her birthday!! I was SO excited and it was sooooo hard not to give away the surprise, especially after they got a call in December telling them they'd been chosen to adopt a little boy (they already have two girls, also adopted).

Before I went, I made the new little guy a present. This is McCall's 6719, a brand new pattern.

He liked it, he cuddled with it and took off with it, it was super cute :)

 But, I couldn't very well not bring presents for the girls too! They had gotten some 18" dolls for Christmas so I pulled out some of my new patterns and made an outfit for each of them. These are both from McCall's 6573.

 Me and Jenn

 We also managed a few family photos, despite the freeeeezing temps! Isn't their family such a picture of the gospel??

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in hm before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.  In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.  --Ephesians 1:3-6

baby doll runway

My baby girl Layla turned six on Friday. SIX!! Get out! I remember when I was pregnant with her (she was due Dec. 30), I wanted her to be really (safely) early or really late because the further from Christmas, the better! She was 8 days late and the extra incubation time grew her into the cutest 9 pound, 2 ounce dimpled and smiley baby you have ever seen :) Now, I'm so glad she was that late because I have just a little smidge of extra time after Christmas to plan her birthday.

I try to work on her gifts before Christmas. This year, I had suggested to my mother-in-law that she would love the Travel-with-me baby Cinderella doll she had seen at Target for her birthday. Since I knew she had gotten her the doll, I set out to make doll clothes for her. After she opened them, we had a fashion show so Cinderella could model her new outfits and I could take pictures :)

 Natalie made her a tutu! I grabbed a "tulle spool" that I already had and showed her how to cut strips and tie them onto elastic. It's super cute :)

 This doll is a new favorite, for sure :)

 I also made her this doll carrier backpack, for which I've had the pattern for about a year, with Layla in mind. I decided to make it while she's still little enough to love dolls!

 I finished the insides with bias tape because there was just a lot of raggedy edges in there.

 Here are the patterns I used. The McCall's one is from the '80's. My mom passed it along to me years ago and it turns out she actually used it to make clothes for my favorite doll, Upsie Baby, when I was little. Aw :) The Simplicity pattern is still in print, though. The clothes are for 15" dolls, though and Cinderella is 12, which is why I didn't make any of those clothes. If you want to find clothes for smaller dolls, there are still a few out there, just look for the ones that say "doll clothes in three sizes".

It's a good thing doll clothes are one of my favorite things to make because Natalie is getting an 18" Our Generation doll for her birthday (because there's no way I'm paying American Girl prices!!
The number of patterns out there for these doll clothes is astounding. I started my collection with these three:

I can't wait to get started!! Those outfits in the middle are adorable--the pattern includes the boots too. Soooo excited!!