DIY Heating Pad Cover 

DIY, Sewing

I have finally set up my sewing machine in a permanent location where I can, on a whim, “whip something up” (and just in case you don’t understand why that would be in quotations, it’s because everything always takes longer than I think OR I decide to go wild and add a bunch of stuff to it).

The past couple of weeks I started sewing again! It’s mainly due to my craft room finally getting set up, which I’ll have to write a separate post about when it’s all done. I’ve been making crochet project bags, a little quilt for my youngest, a quilted pin cushion, and yesterday I made a heating pad and cover. 

Advertisement

Beginning Stained Glass

Crafts, Stained Glass

I have to say I am one of those people who see jewelry, art, crafts or something of the like and think “I can do that” instead of purchasing the item (partially due to wanting to make everything and partially due to being fund impaired 😉 ) . It is a blessing and a curse but has definitely given me appreciation for handmade items and all the work that goes into them.

Summers over and school has just begun!

Personal

I can’t believe the summer is over! I just dropped my oldest off on her first day of first grade and even though it feels like summer shouldn’t be over I am feeling ready for school to begin!

We had a packed summer full of camping, working on the house, being lazy and getting our craft on. I of course didn’t write about any of it but now I’m feeling like sitting down and getting to it!

Hope you all had a great summer! Kind of excited for sweater and boot weather!

s

Easy Pork Fried Rice 

food, recipe

I love fried rice but have never made it before. After pursuing Pinterest for recipies it seemed like it was pretty easy to put together. I didn’t have some of the items that were traditional for fried rice so I made my own version, I really liked it but Mike was a little on the fence. I had added freshly minced ginger and it was a bit much for him so I think next time I won’t add as much or not at all (I really like ginger though so I thought it was yummy). 

Getting ready to remodel!

Holgate House

And so it begins!

In January we (us and my parents) purchased the house we have been renting for almost 11 years! We are going to update the house and convert the garage into a bedroom with bathroom. We are thinking that we will either sell the house, rent it out or maybe live in it a bit longer once everything is done, depending on the housing market at that time but that is a ways out so for now we are just focusing on the remodel. 

Feeling the love!

Food Recommendation, Portland

Yesterday was ❤️ Valentine’s Day ❤️

We don’t usually do too much for it since our “dating anniversary” is the 23rd BUT we actually met on Valentine’s Day 14 years ago! For anyone who’s been in Portland forever you’ll know the place… I was standing in line at The Quest (an underage dance club) when I met Mikey and later that night we hit it off, now 14 years and three kids later, time flies!   

Kalua Pork!

food, recipe

A couple of weeks ago my daughters school had a “luau night” complete with hula dancers, a ukulele show and Hawaiian dinner. I haven’t had kalua pork in a long time and had completely forgotten about it but I will not be making that mistake again! It was SO good! I also had the macaroni salad (mac salad) which I didn’t care for but that’s not unusual for me as I don’t usually like potato or pasta salads unless they are homemade.

Coconut Banana Bread in a Bundt pan

food, recipe

When I was pregnant with my middle child (who’s now 3) I got on a coconut kick, I would spend tons of time online finding recipes for baked goods with coconut and this was one I found and have used over and over.  

Strawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal Bars

food, recipe

There is this little fruit stand that always pops up in the summer on the corner of 52nd and SE Woodstock, I always stop and get strawberries or whatever other freshly picked fruit they have. This year they have moved, just kiddy corner to where they used to be (still on 52nd and Woodstock but now on the NW corner).

Fabric Stash Buster, Easy Quilt

Sewing

I’ve been wanting to do another sewing project and decided that I better start using up some of the scrap fabric I’ve been holding onto. I sorted the fabric into a bold pile and a light pile and decided to make a small quilt with the bold colors.

IMG_3403
I basically followed along how I made my first quilt, cutting out the squares and then laying them out to figure out the pattern. I did pin up an old flannel sheet to the wall as a quilt design board, which worked ok. I was able to put up the design but then my kids came along and were wiggling the fabric.

IMG_3404

Flannel sheet pinned up for quilt design board

I also had pinned it in front of the closet so when my hubby came home he wasn’t too excited to have to compete with the sheet and flying squares of fabric to get into his side of the closet. I think next time I will pin it up on the wall by my side of the bed, where I can keep the traffic to a minimum.

You can see the edge of the blanket I used

You can see the edge of the blanket I used

For the inside of the quilt I used an old blanket that I had been holding onto thinking that it would work for something just like this and it was perfect (and there is plenty more for other projects).

Back on, edges trimmed and quilted

Back on, edges trimmed and quilted

I had some strips of red with white tiny polka dot fabric left over from a Christmas tree skirt I made last year and used that as the binding.

quilt 3
The quilt isn’t very big but I am happy with the end product, its just big enough for the girls to sit on for a picnic or to keep in the stroller for the park. I think for the lighter pile I am going to try the half square triangle type quilt but will need to buy some white fabric for that so we’ll see what happens.

quilt 4

s