'Tis the Season

I'm heading home to Alberta today and couldn't be more excited to see my family! I'm ready for it to feel like Christmas. We didn't decorate our place because we won't be here for a month, and everything is still green outside, so snowy Calgary and my parent's decorated home will get me in the spirit for sure. Although I do wish I could bring a little bit of the weather here with me back to Alberta cause I'm not so ready to the -30 weather!

I feel like I've been so busy getting everything together before I go, and it's finally here. I thought I'd show a few photos of some projects I've been working on.

Both these dresses are patterns

I bought from Mani-Mina

These animal head nativity costumes are for my church's Christmas Party

Merry Christmas!

Birthday Girl

It's hard to believe Sophia is 1! She is this hilarious little person and I love listening to her gibberish. I'm loving every moment with her, except may be those occasional late night wakings. She's taking more steps on her own- only a matter of time till she'll be a full on walker.

Sophia loves: Singing, dancing, Elmo, reading books, playing with her Dad, animals

and especially her soother & softie.

We had a Cat themed 1st Birthday Party for her with friends and family

Cat cake (please excuse the premature cut ear haha)

Cupcakes with #1's thanks to Bradey

Sophia's first taste of cake- as you can see she loved it!

A pretty tired birthday girl after an exciting party.

If only....

I watched 500 Days of Summer this weekend and have to say it was awesome! A refreshing alternative to the usual love movies. I totally recommend! I loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt in "10 Things I Hate About You" and now my crush has been reignited again. Check out his dance sequence. It's the best,....if only this happened in real life. Enjoy!

Halloween

Halloween this year was wonderful! To think last year at this time it felt like I was carrying a pumpkin in my tummy! Sophia was our little Bumble Bee and Bradey & I went as the Black Eyed P's. I found that last minute costume idea here.

We all went to a fun Halloween Party with lots of friends- great time and great food! This was my spooky treat:

Recipe from the "Simply homemade fall'09" magazine

My ghosts had a little problem with height, haha

Delicious recipe!

What to blog......

I've decided I'm more of a "blog reader" than a "blog writer". I have some great blogs that I love to follow, and they connect me to even more awesome blogs to read- it's so fun! Then when it comes to writing on my own I draw a blank- I don't have much to put out there. But I'm sure I can come up with something...

I have a few sewing projects that are in the beginning stages- need to make a stop at the fabric store tomorrow. I'm excited to get started though! One thing I feel like I have been doing a lot is making lots of baby food. My little one is getting big and it seems like I'm making more food every week! My wonderful sister MaryAnne gave me this book, "Blender Baby Food" by Nicole Young and I have been using it ever since Sophie started eating solids. This book has the most delicious recipes and there is a lot of varitey!

Sophia's favorites have been: Figgy Pears, Lentil and Rice Pilaf, Chilli for Beginners and Jumpin' Jambalaya. But her absolute fav is Cheesy Salmon and Broccoli Dinner!

Here's the recipe: ( It makes about 2 cups)

1 cup broccoli florets

1 small potato, peeled and diced

8 oz skinless salmon fillets

1/2 cup homogenized milk

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

1. Arrange potatoes and broccoli in a medium saucepan. Lay salmon fillets on top and pour milk over salmon; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Let cool.

2. Transfer to blender, add cheese and puree on high speed to desired consistency.

Hope you enjoy!

First one down!

I finally finished my first attempt at sewing a dress from a pattern. I started it this summer with the help of my mother, and slowly finished it this weekend. I think it has to do with the sewing class I joined that has helped motivate me to complete some of the projects I've started. The dress is fit for a 2 year old, and I'm thinking it'll be a play "dress up" for Sophia when she's older. The pattern is a Portobellopixie design by Sandi Henderson. It was pretty tricky for my first dress, but I'm happy I was able to complete it!

Time for a "new do"

I have a hair appointment coming up next week so I've been trying to narrow down what I want done. All I know is that I'm so excited! I think I'm going chin length much like Jessica Stroup's new cut from 90210. Hope it will look good on me! I've told my husband no photos until I get my hair cut so I'll post one after the big day.

Fall is around the corner!

I think Fall is my favorite season. It's not only beautiful to see the leaves changing a cool orange and red colour but it's also fun to change up the old wardrobe. I love the fashion with all the layering, comfy sweaters and boots. Although I'm not heading back to school or sending Sophia off to school any time soon I can't help but get pulled into the cute children's back-to-school clothing. So adorable! I love the preppy chic look of this outfit featured on Grosgrain.

Teachers Pet Cardi, Simple Tee and Poppy Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Also, I am on a mission to find some ankle boots this season. I have found a fantastic pair at Nordstrom. Of course they look so fun in the picture but I still feel like I'd need to try them on first before I am sold! May be next time I'm in Washington I'll take a peek through the shoe department.

Absent

Alright....so keeping up with the whole blog thing has been tough. The summer has passed by so quickly it's really hard to believe it's going to be September in less than a week! I really feel like time passes by a lot faster when you have a child. I know a lot of mom's told me " it goes by so fast!" but now I get it. Sophia is 9 1/2 months and is always on the move! She's crawling, cruising, clapping, trying to copy everything we do and has 5 teeth with one another on the way. More fun everyday- I just can't get enough!

Purse or Diaper Bag

You can never have too many purses, right? I wish! When will be the day I will use a purse rather than a diaper bag? It's a good thing I have a nice looking diaper bag to carry around- although I do miss my pretty purses. Morelle is a lovely Etsy shop with gorgeous handmade bags and purses. Brilliant stuff! I love the leather and bright colors- my favorite is the Truffle purse in Mustard (first picture).

Messy Fun

It seems like dinner gets messier every night! It doesn't look like it but I swear most of it gets in her mouth. Sophia is a great eater. So far there hasn't been anything I've given that she doesn't like- hope that she continues to love food, just like her mom!

Going to Hawaii

My first trip to Hawaii- I couldn't be more excited about it! We leave this weekend and I'll be gone for 6 whole days. I just love getting ready for a trip! I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I'm a little crazy because of my need to make To Do Lists, although he asked me today to add something to the list so clearly he has caught onto the fact that if it isn't written down it probably won't get done. I also love the packing part of traveling! Right now I have piles of clothes for me and my daughter stacked up in the living room just waiting to be pack away in a suitcase. Every time I look at it I get butterflies.

I'm sure there will be a lot of relaxing on the beach, but we also want to do some exploring around the island. We're huge Lost fans so we're going to try and scout of the set locations to see if we can get a glimpse of Sawyer or Jack. A girl can only dream!

My love of Etsy

Oh I love looking through Etsy! I could spend hours looking at clothes, bags, accessories, and fabric....so much fabric! My favorites list gets larger everyday. I've bought a bunch of fabric to make some projects- so far I've made a baby dress. I have a few quilts on the go, but not even close to being finished yet. There is so much prep work to do for those quilts! It's always stop and go during nap time, it's tough to stay focused. I hope to open an Etsy shop of my own to sell some paintings one day....somewhere in the near future, hopefully.

It's hard to pick only a few of a favorites to share so I've decided I'll dedicate my Friday posting to one of my favorites. Today's pick is "michelemaule". I think Michele's prints are so pleasing to look at. I love the soft colors and collage elements- very cool!

Here we go.....

My first blog entry. I have been following a few fabulous blogs and now here I am writing on my own. We'll see how well I can keep up with it! I feel like since having my daughter I haven't been able to shake off the nesting urge I had when I was pregnant. I find myself wanting to make recipe books, sewing clothes, organizing scrapbooks, pretty much anything really motherly. May be it's because I fear I won't have as much time when I go back to work in 3 months (I work as a nanny for a wonderful family & I will be bringing my daughter to work with me which is fantastic for me!). So I'm trying to do all the fun stay-at-home mom things I love to do, like taking about a million photos of my daughter! She's starting to move a lot quicker so some of them turn out a bit blurry but the expressions are too hilarious to discard. Here's a few of my favorites.