my crafty side, or why my house is a mess!

fabric bins i made, love that fabric!

*today feels like a rambling kind of day, so this whole post may not make the most sense...just a fair warning. of course, much as i'd like to be a great (or at least fairly good) blogger, i know that i'm not and i'm ok with that!

office/work space wall

i love all things crafty and will admit to being a huge craft junky! when we bought our new house almost 2 years ago, i took over the 4th bedroom & turned it into my craft room/office, rather than making it the guest room that was it's original purpose! it gets tons more usage this way & it makes me happy to have a place where i can get away from all the craziness of every day life, so it's a win-win in my book! 

view from the door into my craft room

 

 

 

now, with that said, i must also admit that my love for being crafty & creative does make other things fall by the wayside almost daily...cleaning & de-cluttering being the main things. of course, i've never been a big fan of cleaning & being an at-home mom/homemaker for the last 12+ years hasn't changed that (much to my husband's dismay)! i do clean, i just don't like to & tend to put it off as long as i possibly can thus delaying the inevitable. i always say that i'm gonna change & do better, print out schedules & plans, buy bins & baskets (or make them) to help keep me organized, and on & on, all in an effort to keep a better/cleaner house. it works for a few days, maybe a week or 2, but in the end i always fall back into my old "non-cleaning" habit. it's hard to change, at least for me when it comes to cleaning! but i never give up so i guess that good since it means that i am trying! one day it'll all click with me & i'll clean without dread or delay...one day, just not today.

cutting/crafting table with extra wall storage

i'm back to beading & jewelry making, finding that i really do enjoy it. so my sewing projects (clothes, quilts, etc) are on hold...my poor sewing machine is starting to feel neglected. for some reason, with all my craft tendencies, i can't seem to concentrate on more than one craft at a time so lots of things get started, just not always finished within the same time frame! needless, to say that leaves me with a lot of unfinished projects! one day they'll get done...it may take a while though, years sometimes, but they do get done! proof that i'm not the greatest multi-tasker, and i'm alright with that!

finally finished the multi-strand seed bead necklaces & restrung the green beads to make a double strand necklace with crystal/silver rondelles

love swarovski crystals! and bracelets are my fav things to make these days...super cute & quick to make! instant gratification!

 

 

*side note: i am getting so very frustrated right now...while editing & adding pics i somehow managed to delete a whole paragraph along with a couple pictures...i am so frustrated about that. *deep breath* so, now i'm just gonna go with what i have & deal. it's frustrating, but i need to learn that i can't let it get to me & ruin my day!*

so, i'm gonna add a few pics and then get on with the craft project of the day...whatever that may be! *and as another side note, my craft room is not nearly as clean as it looks in those pics...i took those after re-doing the room earlier this year!

one of my fav knit projects!

mmmmm...pot roast

i just love a good, slow cooked pot roast...made complete with carrots, green beans, & potatoes! mmmm, that is my kind of comfort food heaven, well one of them anyway! so, i say all that because i have finally found what will be my go-to recipe...by combining bits & pieces of previously tried recipes! i was very happy with the results & i'm here to write it all down (while i still remember it all) so that it really can be my go-to recipe!

leftovers!

slow cooked pot roast: 

~2 TBSP olive oil, extra-virgin
~2-3lb chuck roast (think that's what i used, i'm sure any kind of oven roast would work)
~kosher salt (for the roast)
~fresh carrots (peeled, cut into 1-2" pieces)
~fresh green beans (ends cut, broken or cut into equal pieces)
~baby red, red, or russet potatoes (cut into fairly equal pieces)
~3 garlic cloves
~2 bay leaves
~1 tsp dried thyme
~1 tsp dried rosemary
~2-2.5 cups low sodium beef broth

i think those are all the ingredients i used...i'll find out the next time i make this!
 
using my 6qt. dutch oven, i heated up the oil & seared the meat on all sides (about a minute each side); while that was going on i set the oven to 275degrees to pre-heat it. then i took the meat out, poured in 1 Cup of broth (the remaining broth got the bay leaves, thyme, & rosemary mixed into it) to loosen the browned bits of meat from the sides, added the garlic gloves & stirred it a few times before putting the meat back in the pan. added the carrots, green beans, & potatoes on top of the roast, poured the remaining broth over the top of everything, put the lid on the pot & set it into the oven for 3 hours, give or take.

and that's it...super easy and super tasty! the whole family loved it, so it's definitely a keeper! i realize i'm not the best at recipe writing, but since i'm mainly just writing it for my own benefit i'm ok with my bad instructions! besides, i figured it was easier & quicker to just type it all out rather than put pen to paper...my hand gets tired really quickly when i'm writing since it's something i rarely do these days!

i still need to document the last of the trip stuff & i'm back to jewelry making so there will be pics & posts of that, too. of course it may take a while, seeing how my track record seems to be a post a week...time to get off my lazy butt i guess!







 

more recap, more lessons

so, ok, i have a confession to make...i am horrible at unpacking after a trip. and by horrible, i mean there's still a suitcase left to unpack (jordan's) & a bag of stuff left to empty more than a week after our return home! now, with that said, i can squeeze in a bit more vacation recap before heading out for the events of the day.

magic kingdom was our first disney park & while we had a good time there & rode lots of rides, 15 hours makes for a very long day! so we chose to sleep in & got a later start to our day at the next park, which was hollywood studios. this was the park i figured stephen would enjoy the most because of the stars attractions & him being such a big star wars fan. and in the end, i was right, he did have a better day at this park and of course, we learned some valuable lessons along the way.

~the toy story ride really is the most popular & fast passes must be gotten early! we made a bee line for that ride to get the fast passes as soon we got to the park a little after 12pm, they were already running low with a return time of 9:25-10 (the park was closing at 10pm)! the actual line wait time was over an hour! 

~this was the day we learned that some of fast passes have more than an hour wait before getting another one for any other rides. so always check the time stamp on the bottom of the ticket!

part of the "jedi training" show

~we also learned that participation in the jedi training class (the show they put on by the star tours ride) needs to be arranged in advance of arriving at the park. i really was hoping that the kids could do that & we would be able to just sign up when we got there, sadly, that was not the case. all show times were already closed for sign-ups on the day we were there. and so, now i know that i need to call at least a day (or more) in advance of our arrival at that park. the kids still enjoyed watching the show, but i know that stephen would've have really loved to be a part of it and i felt bad for not thinking ahead on that one.

~hollywood studios is one of the disney parks that sells alcoholic beverages, not just beer! that was a very nice surprise and something that we took advantage of, but only once since the drinks weren't cheap! and, yes, i will admit that after mine i did have a much more relaxed outlook on the remainder of the day!

~the honey, i shrunk the kids play area was a great place for the kids to run around & for us parents to sit and relax for a bit! there was a bit of a line to get in, but once inside we let the kids roam around for a good 20 minutes and they could've spent more time in there if we had let them!

buzz lightyear above the counters @ pizza planet

~we grabbed lunch at pizza planet & learned that the kids size pizza was way too small for our kids! luckily, we found that out before actually ordering the kids meal! and so, this was the first place that i used the "no sides" option when ordering our food.

~stephen did not like the tower of terror ride...he's a coaster kid, but doesn't like the rides that go straight up & down! jordan, on the other hand, loved it & the other coasters as well!

part of the car stunt show

~we all liked the car stunt show & the indiana jones one, we missed out on beauty & the beast & the little mermaid ones. with these we learned that there's no rush to try & leave the stands when the shows are over...it's better to let the crowd thin out before trying to join the herd!



~we missed out on fast passes for the rock 'n roll coaster & had to wait in the line for that one. it wasn't terrible, but it was another lesson for us & reminder that we should've brought along their nintendos to keep them occupied...since by the time we chose to ride this ride our phones were already nearly dead.

not a great pic, but this is above the entrance for the aerosmith coaster

~no fireworks show here, but there is the mickey's spectacular (or something like that) that had a couple show times. we had heard that most people start to line up for that 90 minutes before the actual show...we skipped it for that exact reason!


~so the toy story ride was our last ride of the evening & even with the fast passes there was a line with about a 10-15 minutes wait! i was nervous that the kids wouldn't be able to get their souvenirs since we save that for the end of the park day!

outside the star tours ride

~and that brings me to our final lesson...stores will stay open past the park closing! as luke said, "they are not going to say no to making more money!" and therefore the kids were able to make their own light sabers & explore the star wars store a bit before we finally headed out of the park a little after 10pm.

it was a much shorter day for us & i was pleasantly surprised at the lack of traffic both arriving at the park & leaving from the park. we never had a wait for the trams, so that was really nice! our only problems would come when trying to get back to the hotel & the roundabout way that the gps was taking us! but i'll have to get to that another day when i have more time & haven't rambled on for way longer than i intended! 


  for now it is off to get dressed (yet another sign of my laziness, the fact that i'm still in my pj's as i type this up) & get ready for the day! still to come...animal kingdom, universal, disney quest, & legoland!




 

lessons learned...some the hard way

well, we made it...we survived our first trip to orlando! there were tantrums, tears, and meltdowns (from all of us at some point), but we made it through and despite our original thought of this being "a one time only" trip, we will be going back in a couple years when jordan is taller so she can ride the big coasters! of course, the hubby has only agreed to this if i don't mention anything more about it until the vacation nears in 2014 (he's not overly anxious to head back down there)!


so, here's some of the lessons we learned along the way & hopefully, we'll keep them all in mind before our next trip!


~i did tons of research on disney leading up to our visit, not so much on universal or legoland...in the end, i think i over-planned our disney stuff & way under-planned the other parks. 


~the hotel we stayed in, the caribe resort, was the best choice for us & i would definitely stay there again. they have suites & rooms in the main building & villas in the back of the property. we stayed in one of the villas since we (mainly i) need 2 rooms & 2 bathrooms...i know how my family is & for my sanity, i needed 2 bathrooms! they have a great main pool with a slide (that the kiddos loved) & a smaller pool just for the villas. i was happy to have the space & the added luxury of a full kitchen & washer/dryer in the unit! i was able to do 3 loads of laundry while we were there!

day 1: magic kingdom

~magic kingdom was our longest park day...15 hours total! that's not something that we'll be repeating, it was just too long!


~jordan did the bibbidi bobbidi boutique and while it was a wonderful experience, it's not something that we're likely to repeat! she managed to keep the hair 'do for about 4.5 hours before we had to take the stuff out because the bobby pins were poking her...she was picking at & scratching her her head the whole time before we took it down. so be forewarned that if your little girl isn't used to pins in her hair, it may not be the best choice for her either! also, a week later & there's still glitter on her scalp, even after bathes & pool swimming!

enjoying the pastries before the meal!

~we did the breakfast at cinderella's castle (i booked it 5 months before our trip) after her hair appointment & while it was a big expense, it was worth it for us. the food was ok, not great...the crepes were more cheese filled then meat filled. jordan had her picture taken with cinderella (they give you copies of it while you are at the table) before we were seated & during the meal we had 4 other princesses walking around for pics & autographs...that made it all worth it to me since the lines for autographs were crazy long!


~my kids are not patient, anything longer than a 10 minute wait & they get antsy & irritating! i'll have to keep their ds's with me next time! so that being said, we really loved the fast pass option, made things much easier when we were able to get them!

~fast pass is a wonderful thing! but beware, i had read that you can get one every hour, that was not the case though. some rides make you wait up to 2 hours before you can get another fast pass so be sure to check the time that they print on the ticket.

waiting for the light parade!

~liberty square is the best, least crowded place to see the electric light parade...main street was packed & a cast member even said that liberty square was the best spot.

~food is pricey, but not more than what we expected...it's a step above fast food in taste & price. with the exception of cinderella's breakfast, we did counter service for all other meals. you can save a bit by foregoing the side items, just tell them you don't want the fries or salad or etc. that comes with the sandwich, pizza, hot dog, whatever. that saves about $1.50 a meal.


~we really didn't need to carry all the things that i originally thought we would need. i carried around a ton of stuff while at the magic kingdom, but by the time we went to legoland, 5 days later, my bag was much lighter! we stopped bringing water bottles since we were just buying drinks @ the parks, i didn't even use the ponchos since the kids wanted to get wet on the wet rides & rain wasn't even in the forecast. also, the misting fans are nice, but my kids were just using them to squirt each other so i stopped bringing them along.


~sunscreen (in small rub-on tubes) were always in the bag, along with the camera & extra batteries, and a couple small pouches with our tickets & money. we ended up not eating the snacks that i had brought along.

~taking pre-purchased dollar tree glow bracelets was one of the best tips i found! the kids didn't even ask for the park glow things since i let them know ahead of time that we had our own and they were fine with that!


i could go on & on...and i will, tomorrow! for now, i'll end here and get going on the unpacking that still needs to be done and the house cleaning & laundry that are waiting as well!

i shall fear knit no more!

thanks yet again to pinterest, i am officially obsessed with t-shirt refashions & working with knit fabric! and i fear knit no more! my serger is another story though...still haven't built up the courage to tackle that 4 thread monster, but this is the year that i will do more than just look longingly at it & wish that it would thread itself!

so here's what i've been up to for the last 2 days & what will more than likely occupy my time over the next few days, possibly weeks!

michael's had their t-shirts on sale 2/$6 this week so i stocked up so that i could get crafty & experimental without breaking the bank! 

shirred waist skirt

i bought 2 of the color pictured & turned one into a skirt & one into a top. the skirt was made using tips from a pin i found about turning a men's shirt into a skirt. the shirt i made turned out to be my own design...it's not bad, but i still need to re-work the sleeves/arm holes.

 

 

my own creation

 i've turned a couple size large shirts into more of a peasant style and they are super roomy & comfortable, and quick to make so i plan on making tons more!

peasant blouse

having luck with those i moved onto trying a couple other pinners tuts for tee refashioning, unfortunately those didn't turn out as well as i was hoping, but not a total loss since it did give me the chance to experiment & helped me realize that some styles don't look as good on me as i want them to!


the first i tried was reworking an old sport tee into something cuter. i did not take pics of that since the end results were less than stellar & that tee will now be used for workout & yardwork purposes only!

then i moved onto turning a long sleeve tee into a ruffle collar tank. i really wanted this one to work out because the pics on the tutorial looked super cute! unfortunately, ruffle collars tend to look rather clown collar like on me so no ruffle neck tops for me...didn't realize this til after i completed the top! even after cutting the ruffle open i still wasn't happy with how it looked. oh well, lesson learned!

ruffle collar tank from long sleeve tee

close up after i cut ruffle open

i also made a "from scratch" top using a pattern & knit fabric. that turned out better than i expected and really made me feel less afraid to tackle more patterns using knit! 

up next will be more skirts & peasant tops from oversized tees and i plan on trying some dress patterns & tutorials as well. i'm in desperate need of maxi skirts & dresses for those days when i want to look girly and hide my unshaven legs at the same time! 


some day i will tackle all my sewing fears...for now, i'm thrilled that i have taken the plunge into knits and can't wait to keep creating new clothes!

rollin' right along

i'm on day 21 of my pinterest challenge and so far, so good. 

i really wanted this to be a great entry about all the wonderful things i've tried, but it's late and i'm tired so it's short & sweet this time.

today i made a meatloaf from a recipe i found...altered it a bit to fit our tastes & it turned out wonderfully, a definite keeper; which led me to find recipe card printables so that i could remember exactly what i did for the next time.

also, printed out some budgeting worksheets (so i can get myself back on track) and some mickey mouse templates so that i can make a couple cute bags for our upcoming orlando trip...which we'll be leaving for 3 weeks from tomorrow (yikes & yippee)!

 and finally, i'm also working on a quilt for jordan's best friend kylee since they will be moving. it caused me more trouble than i expected when i started working on it today, but in the end i got it all quilted & will begin the binding & finishing process tomorrow. 

so, i keep rolling right along with my challenge & am really enjoying it! more pics & better entries next time! 

pinterest challange

i'm in love with pinterest! 
really, i have been for a few months now. 
and that love has now turned into a challenge (thanks to another pinner for giving me the idea) to make, cook, bake, start, or finish something that i've either pinned in the past or pin on that particular day.

so far, so good...but i'm only 3 days in! i made a fabric book cover for jordan on day 1, finished building the doll bed for jordan's american girl on day 2, and wrapped an empty wine bottle with twine on day 3 (today). my guess is most things will be craft related since that is what i'm more inclined to do, but i've also found lots of recipes & tips that i need to try as well. 


it's gonna be a fun challenge & one that i'm pretty confident i can stick with for at least a few weeks...hopefully longer though.




this is the twine wrapped bottle with green twine circle accents that i made today. it was more time consuming than i had expected, but turned out pretty well. i'm happy with it and in the end that's all that matters to me! 

i'm looking forward to the days & weeks ahead...my challenge awaits!