Nesting

This past week or so I’ve been working on some sewing and crafting projects to decorate the nursery. I made some things when Avery was born but I was definitely sick of them 5 years later! So it has been fun to see my little vision come together. I’m not quite done yet but I wanted to post some pictures of what I’ve done so far. (And by the way, I know I’m totally not a pro when it comes to these things!) Here’s the room view:

And here is the new bedding I made – a crib skirt and a crib sheet.

I used this online tutorial for the crib skirt and this one for the crib sheet. Both were actually quite easy, but I was super nervous to make the crib sheet especially since I’ve never made one before. I just couldn’t find a pre-made sheet that I liked/matched my crib skirt. I used a knit fabric which I don’t work with very often so I was really worried it wasn’t going to turn out, but it worked great! And I’m glad I used knit because it’ll be way softer for the baby than cold cotton material would. Oh and I decided not to make a bumper because they’re not really safe once the babies start rolling. Here’s another picture.

Then I made a matching valence for the window. I know curtains would have been much more hip but oh well. The wood valence thing on the top of the window belongs to the house. I can take it down but haven’t decided if it’s worth the trouble yet.

My biggest project was this butterfly mobile, based off one made by Pottery Barn.

 

It was quite a project – cutting out 62 butterflies, tying and gluing 16 pieces of clear string onto three embroidery hoops I painted and tied together, and then gluing the 62 butterflies on the strings… I admit, about halfway through I was very worried I was going to have to throw the whole thing away. But it turned out and kind of ties the whole thing together. I used this tutorial to figure it out.

The only other thing I did was set up this little shelf I already had. I used some leftover scraps of fabric to put in the frames on the sides of the mirror and I painted this little word Dream that I found at a craft store.

So I still have a few things to work on. I need to swap out the black chair that’s in there for the glider and ottoman. I’m toying with the idea of making a little decorative throw pillow to put on the glider to tie it in a little. I also would love to make these letters for the wall with the baby’s name on it. But… that would require us to choose a name in time for me to get my modge podge on! We’ll see! And who knows what other ideas I’ll find in all my online browsing!

For now, I’m just glad I’ve been able to do this much because it’s really mentally preparing me for the fact that a baby is actually coming! 7 more weeks until she’s here!!

A Few of my Faves

I know a lot of people do their favorite things on blogs so I wanted to share with you a few of mine.

First up – Crunchy Nut Cereal. This is a new Kellogg’s cereal that came out a few months ago. I got some coupons for it so we tried it out. Yum! There are two types – one with flakes and one with O’s and I love them both, but the O’s are my favorite. Kind of remind me of the Honey Graham Oh’s cereal (which I also love) but these at least don’t scrape up the roof of your mouth like those do.

Another plus about this cereal is on every box (that I’ve bought so far at least) there is a coupon on the side for $1 off 2 boxes, which is a good coupon (when you match it with a sale and double it).

Another new favorite of mine is the store World Market. Such a fun place to explore! They have all kinds of products from around the world from food to linens to furniture, whatever. And the prices are good too! My first experience going there last year I was so excited to find a 4 pk of ceramic ramekins for $2.99. I just love their kitchen stuff.

The reason it’s on the brain lately is that if you join their rewards program online they will give you a coupon for your birthday that I just got a couple weeks ago. It’s $10 off a purchase of $10 or more. So I went for a little shopping trip on my birthday and for a dollar I got three cute kitchen gadgets I’ve been wanting. Sign up now so you can get the coupon on your birthday too!

Another favorite of mine my sister Britney told me about last year. It’s Yoplait Apple Turnover Yogurt. Merrick actually thinks it sounds disgusting but I think it’s totally delish! Tastes like apple pie in a yogurt. I get it all the time.

Next up is my new Kitchenaid Pro I got for my birthday/Mother’s Day this year. I asked around and most people recommended getting the largest size and I’m glad I did. I’ve used it about 4-5 times and it’s so fun! I can have it kneading my dough while I run outside to make sure my children are still alive! So nice! And I love the red. It’s my favorite color and it’s going to be on my countertop forever so why not go for it!

When we were in Utah last month we had a little time to kill and so we walked around IKEA in Draper. We didn’t have room in our suitcases to bring much back but we did pick up these Popsicle Molds:

We’ve had such a fun time trying out different homemade popsicles. So far we’ve tried two recipes from Our Best Bites’ post on Pudding Pops: Strawberries and Cream and Mint Chocolate Cookies. Both were super easy and so good. Today I made Strawberry Watermelon Ice Pops and I can’t wait to see how yummy they turn out. Let me know if you have any other fun popsicle recipes we can try!

Lastly, I’ll share a pasta recipe I’ve tried a couple times now and really like. It was on an episode of Barefoot Contessa and it’s called Nick and Toni’s Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola. Merrick is totally not a marinara sauce fan so I’m always looking for good sauce recipes. This one is a tomato vodka cream sauce but I just substitute chicken broth instead of vodka. Turns out great.

I love that the sauce is baked in the oven. Makes it so much more flavorful. So I always half the recipe and then bread up some thin chicken breasts by dipping them in egg and bread crumbs then frying them in a little oil. Goes great with the sauce. Enjoy!

Vacation!

The last week of April we spent in Utah enjoying ourselves with family. The occasion was my brother Jordan’s wedding to Kara Jenkins but we were also able to get there a week early to make it a nice long vacation.

We arrived the day before Easter and spent it with Merrick’s family in Bountiful. It was a beautiful day and the girls had an absolute blast hunting for eggs. They wore their dresses for Jordan’s wedding (but had to promptly take them off so we didn’t ruin them before the big day!).

After they opened all their eggs they hid them again and found them again over and over. Perfect tradition for little kids! We enjoyed a delicious dinner and had a nice holiday.

The next day we took the kids to Discovery Gateway downtown. They LOVED it. (Well, after Camryn got over her grumpiness from having fallen asleep in the car on the way.) What a fun place for kids.

Tuesday we were lucky to be in town for my cousin Jace’s wedding too! So Merrick and I went to the sealing at the new Draper Temple and luncheon in the morning. They were such an adorable couple. I loved their wedding colors too – so fun and whimsical.

Too bad it was freeeezing!! Snowing and bitterly cold wind. Definitely not what you’d expect for a late April day! But that’s Utah for you. That night we went to their reception and enjoying socializing with a lot of my family. They had the cutest treat buffet – cake pops (yum!!), cupcakes, cookies, etc. all in their bright wedding colors. Then they had a soft serve ice cream machine with all the toppings. So fun!

Wednesday Merrick’s mom came with us to the Hogle Zoo. It was a beautiful day (I think every other day was snowy or sunny on this trip – so crazy!). We had fun with the kids checking out all the animals. Here are a few pictures:

After the zoo, we headed up to the house my family rented in Midway. We stayed there at Christmastime too so now all the kids think it’s Grandma and Grandpa’s house, haha. All of my family was able to be there and so we had fun hanging out together, getting to know Ashley’s new husband, and getting ready for all the wedding festivities!

Thursday we went to Kara’s (Jordan’s fiancée's) bridal shower. It was fun to see her again. We met Kara in December when we went out for Ashley’s wedding but they weren’t engaged at the time so this was fun to get to know her a little better. On Friday we were all able to be there for Kara’s endowment in the Bountiful Temple. The kids had been having so much fun with their cousins they fell asleep within minutes of getting in the car.

Aunt Katie was the lucky one they rested their heads on!

Saturday was the big wedding day! It was, of course, cold and there was probably an inch of snow on the ground at the Bountiful Temple. Once again, definitely not what you’d hope for in planning an April 30th wedding! But the sealing was great and they both said yes! Kara is our first sister-in-law to marry into the family so we’re excited to have her! The happy couple:

Here are a few pictures her photographer (Nickell Jensen Blair) posted on Facebook already:

The luncheon was at The Wight House in Bountiful. Such a pretty place. Their colors were navy blue and lime green. We had so much fun visiting with family. They decided to do a big luncheon instead of a reception so it was a nice gathering.

The newlyweds, who were just glowing with happiness:

My older sister Britney and her husband Jeremy:

The ever-photogenic Avery:

The bouquet toss (we told our youngest sister Katie that she should not catch the bouquet! Not ready for another wedding, haha!):

That’s about all I got from the luncheon. I’ll post more when we get back the professional photos from the photographer. (Notice there isn’t any pictures of me in here! Let’s just say I wasn’t too keen on being photographed at 6 months pregnant!)

The afternoon turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. We drove back up to Midway for the night (but not without stopping for custard at Nielsen’s- sooo good!). We had a joint birthday party for my parents that night and I made this cake from ourbestbites.com. Yum!

The next morning we got to watch Jordan and Kara open all their wedding gifts, and then we said goodbye to my parents. I went back to Merrick’s parents house in Bountiful for a couple days with the girls, while Merrick flew back to Wisconsin without us so he could be back for work on Monday.

We had a nice time just relaxing and recovering from the busy week! It was good trip flying home by myself with the girls. They got a little stir crazy but no major mishaps, so that was good.

And now we’re back to real life. Picking all the hundreds of dandelions there are in our yard, waiting for all the trees to bloom, and watching the gas station across the street in unbelief at these crazy gas prices! ($4.09 today but $4.15 yesterday… um… seriously?!)