I am smitten with Smitten Kitchen

In the past 2 days I have made 3 recipes from www.smittenkitchen.com and each one has been amazing.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/breakfast-pizza/#more-5827

http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/11/one-for-the-sling-files/

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/st-louis-gooey-butter-cake/

I am never buying bread or pizza dough again! They were all easy and delightful :).

A new home...

So, I have been preoccupied for the past month or so with thoughts of a new home. After some searching we found what is practically my dream home. It is big (3x the space) and open and brand new!! I a really excited and that has made it hard to be in my current home. The new one won't be done until July so I need to keep that in perspective and keep cleaning and so on here.

On the note, I am working on "cleaning" out my freezer. It is a treasure trove of meals I have been saving for when I "need" them and desserts for when I "need" those. I started the process of stocking my freezer over a year and a half ago as I prepared to go back to work. Now that I am home I kept adding to the freezer faster than I subtracted. The goal is to eat 3 things from either the deep freeze or indoor freezer a week. That could be meat that I bought in bulk, bread that I bought on sale, or whole meals I have in there prepared and waiting.

I am also trying to use up what is in my cupboards so we don't spend $$ moving food. It reminds me of finding a bottle of anise in my mom's cupboard that EXPIRED in 1983 - and this was just last year people!!

I guess I am eating us out of hose and home :)

I haven't stopped crafting so I will be sharing some of those projects at then end of the month.

From Good Days

My boy isn't the only one I have been sewing for

Here are some projects for me:
A dress the was unraveling got turned into a skirt. It had a tied empire waist so I cut off the top (that was falling apart) and replaced the tie with elastic. It just needs a wide belt.
An organizer for my very small car...to keep the diapers, wipes and snacks in order.
A removable cover for my ottoman...since Carter is constantly dirtying it.
A dress using the pre-smocked fabric from JoAnn. We are going to Florida in May :)

My sewing circle, Simply Sewing, met last night. It was a lot of fun and I am super excited. I got to pick the next project so there should be an apron post coming...

For my boy

My son is loving the PBS show Super Why right now so I made him a cape, Super C.

My first real applique so don't look too closely...

Here are the jammie pants I made using this tute. It took me significantly longer then 15 minutes but I did make the waist band adjustable...

And a shirt for him to wear to a "semi-formal" birthday party...also applique :)

February

I have been busy crafting for the past month. I took an old sweater and made a pillow, leg warmers and a caplet for my friend's daughter. For my cousin's daughter I made a pair of leg warmers out of clearance socks and a bag using a technique that allows the handles to be continuous and not need to be attached - NOT worth it. I finished a flannel blanket that my cat loves. I made bakerella's oreo balls for my son in the shape of Elmo and I need practice. I also made him a cube with a button, a zip, a snap and a buckle that took hours and he ignore. I then spent hours making fabric letter magnets and he LOVES them. The red bag is my sewing circle project for the month. I am super excited about this new group of women forming.

The last project I did in February was to make 2 purses. One for my friend and one for myself. Mine is boring but the one I made for my friend is pretty - I just forgot to take pictures. It is like this bag but with wooden handles. Sorry Carlie, no pic :(.

Wow it has been a while

Well, I kept up with my tasks until my boy got sick with a double ear infection.  He had many sleepless days and was crabby but cuddly so I got nothing done.  I am trying to get back into it, but mostly sewing.

So, I saw some towels on clearance and decided to grab a blue one to make a hooded towel for my kiddo.  As soon as I finish I realized I should have grabbed the red towel.  I went back and got it and transformed it into this:

 

He loves it!

My kitchen is sparkling

And bare. Today is Friday which is clean the kitchen day but it is also the 8th which is wipe down appliances (the 6th was dust anything hanging on the walls and the 7th was Windex all other glass - maybe too similar...). Since they hit on the same day I decided it was a double whammy and I SCRUBBED my kitchen. I took EVERYTHING off the counters and stove and scrubbed the counters. I took the utensils out of their canister and the pasta out of the jars and the tea out of the tin...and I washed it all...well my dishwasher is washing some of it. Don't forget that your dishwasher can be a workhorse: Surprising Uses for Your Dishwasher Real Simple. I cleaned the inside of the toaster oven and scrubbed the espresso maker. I even washed out the recycle bin.

The only thing I didn't do was my fridge. Clean the inside of the fridge and microwave is the 20th and I was out of space to put all of the pictures that are on it so I will wipe it down that day too. I forgot I had a special day for the inside of the microwave so it will get done twice this month.

Almost an hour later I am relaxing and wishing I could make a latte (but can't because some of the parts are in the dishwasher).

New Plan

In 2010 I have a new plan for keeping up on my least favorite domestic duties: the ones that involve cleaning!

Each day I am going to have a weekly chore and a monthly chore. For example today was a Tuesday so I did my 1st floor floors and today was the 5th so I cleaned the inside of my windows.

Here are my weekly chores:
Monday - Laundry
Tuesday - 1st floor floors
Wednesday - pick up upstairs (downstairs gets done nightly)
Thursday - upstairs floors
Friday - shine my kitchen
Saturday - orgainze the entry way (put away shoes, clean the drop zone and hang all coats)
Sunday - meal planning

I will post the monthly chores later but so far I have:
1 - check in with my finances, bills, receipts
2 - update calendars and display board
3 - clean light fixtures
4 - dust ceiling mouldings
5 - windows

So far so good :)



I am still trying to do 1 thing a month for myself and last month I got a new haircut that I love:

Apron

It took me two naps but I finished an apron yesterday. There is a pic of our friends' baby on the pocket (hence the blurring). It is a gift for baby's grandma since she is always so sweet to us. I even got to use my new decorative stiches :).