Birthday Present!

My niece turned four this past week and I wanted to make her something fun for her birthday.  She loves dress up and when I saw this skirt, I knew I had to make it for her!  I purchased the pattern, because I knew I wouldn't be able to figure out how to even start making the skirt and I knew I would use again for other birthday gifts (I have five nieces!).

After lots of sewing, ruffling, seam ripping, and sewing some more...this is what I came up with.

Yummy Alfredo Sauce

I decided that I wanted to try and make my own alfredo sauce.  I really don't care for the stuff in the jar and I'm not sure about the stuff that comes in the packet and you just add milk.  So after a little looking online, I found this recipe.  I followed the recipe and it came out perfect!  Very simple to make and super quick.  I served it over some angel hair pasta and broccoli.  Much better then any of that alfredo sauce in the jar!

Wednesday Night Chili!

After hearing the weather report Tuesday night, I knew Wednesday would be a snow day for Jeremy and me.  I figured I make a big ol' pot of chili for dinner on Wednesday.  Personally, I think the best way to eat chili is after its been in the slow cooker all day long.  I really don't follow a recipe for chili...I just add things that I think will make everything taste good.  

To make this chili, I cooked up 2 pounds of ground turkey and 2 Tbsp. of chili powder, added in some minced garlic, peppers and onions.  In the slow cooker, I added in a jar of whatever spaghetti sauce we had in our pantry, and a can of rotelle (diced tomatoes and green chilies).  Once the turkey was cooked through, I added it to the slow cooker and mixed everything together.  I set it to 8-hours and just let it simmer all day. 

Right before we were ready to eat, I made some cornbread.  My favorite mix is the Jiffy brand, that comes in the blue box.  It's cheap and easy to make (all you add is eggs and milk).  

I like to top my chili off with some cheese and sour cream.  

What a great meal for a snowy, windy night!

Baby Bag

A co-worker of mine is pregnant with her second child and is due at the beginning of March.  I wanted to make her something and was searching the internet, looking for an idea on what to make.  I came across Sew Much Ado and found an awesome baby bag pattern.  I even loved the colors and knew my co-worker would too!

So off to Joann's I went to find some fabric.  The pattern suggested home decor weight fabric, so that's I what I got.  I'm glad I did, because the bag was much more stable and durable.

This is one gift that I made for someone that I'm pleased with how it came out (as you can tell, I'm very hard on myself when it comes to being crafty!).

Here are some pictures of the finished product.

Conversation Hearts

When I first started working on these, I wasn't super happy with how they were turning out.  I'm a beginner when it comes to sewing and still have trouble with certain things.  But after I painted the hearts, I was really liking them.

First, I cut out heart shapes out of some muslin I had left over from another project.  I then sewed the hearts, leaving a two-inch opening on the side so I can stuff them.  Then I hand sewed the opening.

After I finished sewing everything, I used some bright colored paints and painted the muslin.  I only did one coat, but I think two coats would have been a lot better.

For some final touches and to give them that conversation candy heart look, I used a white paint marker to write the words on each of the hearts.  And has anyone noticed some of the new sayings on those hearts??  "Sweet Pea", "Love Bug", and "Text Me" are some of the new sayings for 2010.  These traditional Valentine's Day candies date back to 1902!

Valentine's Day Wreath

I was going through some blogs, and I came across this awesome Valentine's Day wreath.  It's made out of a foam wreath form, that I found at my local dollar store.  I then wrapped the form with some red ribbon.  And then hot glued cupcake liners to make the 'fluffy' part of the wreath.  Right now, I have it hanging on our corner cabinet and I think it adds some great color to our apartment.  Especially since we have all white walls!

What girl doesn't love free makeup?

I saw this over at That's So Cuegly.  It's an offer for a free trial size of Pur's 4-in-1 mineral makeup.  All you pay is $5.95 shipping and you get 3 free samples! 

Offer code: FREETRIAL2010.


Enjoy!

Cooking

Every time I see certain family members, they always ask about my cooking.  They ask if all I'm making is spaghetti or if we go out to eat.  No matter what I say, they don't believe it.  So I'm going to prove them all wrong! 

I have to admit, I don't think I'm a good cook at all.  And if I don't feel like cooking, we will usually just heat up some leftovers or whatever we have in the freezer or order take out.  But I can honestly say, that when I do cook, it's not always spaghetti.  Even if it's my favorite food!   I like to try new recipes.  And I'm constantly looking online and through magazines and cookbooks on new things to try.

Last night, when Jeremy and I sat down to eat (and I did cook!), I decided to start writing about the meals I make and post the recipes, if I used one.  Maybe even a picture or two.  And hopefully I can get Jeremy to write a quick review on what I made.

So....check back soon to see what I've been cookin' up!  And maybe I'll add in a little baking.