Adventures in Quilting

One fabric down, nine more to go. ;o) I ordered the print fabric for my quilt last week and spent the last few days just looking at the cuteness. I finally got brave and just dove in: prewashing (interesting experience), drying, ironing, and cutting. I told Tyson that the theme of this quilt is "Rid Hailey of her OCD-ness and Embrace Imperfections," or Embrace Imperfection for short. Seriously. I spent so much time folding and refolding the fabric so that the dots would line up straight, and then realized that it doesn't really matter. It can be a little...non-straight. :o)

I still need to find some cream fabric locally (I'm thinking Hobby Lobby with a coupon), and also fabric for the binding (maybe chocolate? unclear at this point). I am extremely fortunate to have a sewing enthusiast for a mother-in-law, as she was able to let me borrow tools and a sewing machine to work on when I'm at home. I plan to do a bit at the ranch under her supervision though. I keep second guessing myself, and it would be nice to have someone who knows what she's doing to point me in the right direction.

Random tip: When ironing fabric, starch one side and then flip over to iron. Then starch the side you just ironed and flip again to iron the first side. It worked perfectly for me (and I am definitely not very skilled with an iron)! Thank you very much Mother-in-Law!

On an unrelated note, I showed Tyson Angry Birds on my phone and now he is addicted. I am seriously regretting that introduction. I was never really hooked (more of a Doodlejump fiend myself), but he most definitely is.

Menu Planning Sunday

I'm going to be at a career fair tomorrow, so I thought I would go ahead and post today. :)

monday :: baked potato night.
tuesday :: "melt in your mouth" pork chops + basmati rice
wednesday :: garlic herb grilled chicken + steamed broccoli
thursday :: burgers and fries
friday :: out of town

I am loving allrecipes.com to find new recipes. A lot of times I don't even follow the recipe exactly because the advice in the comments section sounds so good. I'm planning to put the pork chops in a slow cooker with some pineapple juice and the sauce...hopefully they're tasty!

I need another Spring Break...

This week (all two days, I know), I've been waking up so tired! Maybe I'm getting addicted to coffee or something. But I've had two great days of subbing, so after I wake up it's been good. And I should be thankful that what I love to do includes a Spring Break. :o)

Meal Planning Tuesday
monday :: baked potato night! my favorite night of the week.
tuesday :: pork quesadillas (we're trying to use up some slow cooker sweet barbacoa pork I made last week...we've had pork tacos, pork pizza, and now quesadillas!)
wednesday :: chicken parmesan bundles, couscous, salad + zucchini
thursday :: chicken and broccoli alfredo
friday :: steak, roasted potatoes + salad

I just realized that we will be having chicken two nights in a row...hmm. Oh well. I want to make my own little recipe book with our favorite recipes, but I feel like we need to find 5 more good recipes first. Speaking of good recipes, I made a delicious chocolate cake last week. It was an apology cake for bailing out on the weekly Top Chef watching a few weeks ago, and I think I was forgiven. Chocolate cake + homemade butter cream frosting = love. So bad, but so, so good.

Alright, well I've got to empty the dishwasher and make some dinner. Happy Tuesday!

Blogged!

Our wedding photographer has blogged our engagement session from last year. Check it out over here! :o)

Spring Break To Do List

Just when I thought I was getting better about blogging, I go over a week without posting. :o( Spring Break is next week (already here for me, as I didn't work yesterday or today to dog sit for some of my parents' friends), and I have been working on a to do list for almost a month to ensure that it is a productive week. Hopefully I get most of it done.

• Visit apartment complexes to compare current rates (I really hope we don't have to move this year!)
• Get a Sprinkles cupcake (or maybe five)
• Renew my inspection sticker for Herman
• Walk Brody every day
• Visit tutoring places in the hopes of finding a summer job
• Clean out the craft closet

 I know it will go by quickly, so I like to plan ahead. There is more I need to do, but I can't remember exactly what at the moment.

So thankful for safety of my friends and family right now. Praying for the people of Japan and Hawaii today.

Random Photo Wednesday

Last weekend we went to the ranch, which was nice because we hadn't been up there since Christmas. Tyson had some work to do on Sunday, so I had a little photo session with the herd at the main ranch. This is one of my favorites...it was overcast in the morning and then the sun came out and it was nice later on.