Peachy French Toast

It's Friday and that means the weekend is nearly here!  Why not make some super yummy Peach Stuffed French Toast for breakfast on one of the 'S' days?

Be sure to top it with some candied pecans and maple syrup!  I'm a firm believer that Sundays should begin with maple syrup on something, but that's just how I was raised.  My dad has been making pancakes or waffles for breakfast every Sunday for as far back as I can remember.  He also makes his own maple syrup (in fact, he tapped some trees a few days ago to begin this year's batch); it's safe to say it's a sacred tradition. 

Have a great weekend!

Big Butt Baby Pants

Rowan is a cloth diapered babe, ergo his butt is a LOT larger than disposable diapered bums due to all the extra padding.  Clothing manufacturers make pants to fit the single use variety because unfortunately, they are the majority.  That's all I'll say about the cloth vs disposable debate because I want people to like me...I mean, my blog :)

I'm a teeny bit obsessed with Made By Rae.  Partly because she sounds like an absolute riot, and partly because her sewing creations kick tushie.  I made some baby tights for R-man a few weeks ago (to use as long underwear) and I've tried other patterns of hers and have loved them all.  However, these Big Butt Baby Pants are a real gem.  Perfect for a cloth-swaddled tot due to the extra panel in the back, OR can be used for disposable bottoms; just make a size smaller than what baby is currently wearing.

I really should have ironed them....

The first two pairs I made are out of linen, but I feel like they're a little too light for winter, so the next pair I make with a light-weight fabric will include a lining.  I nabbed that idea from this post over at Made. 

One of the above pairs debuted at a weekly baby group that has started with some mums I met at Salsa Babies.  They gave me an awesome idea.

Note the 'lazy person's' ironing board above the shirt.

Use men's shirts!  Off I skipped (err, drove) to the closest thrift shop to peruse the pickings.  I selected items from the XXL section so that I would have enough fabric to work with.  I brought home a camel corduroy (above), a cool coloured plaid and a green fleece.

Not sure what he'll put in his pocket.

I really like the cord/plaid combo on the pants above.  I probably should have used a more appropriate colour of thread, but I didn't have any on hand.  When you start making baby pants, the adorable-ness consumes you and they must be finished immediately.  No time for a trip to the fabric store.

 

This one I've coined 'The Oscar'.  Rowan has been a little grouchy lately due to teething, and when I need to lighten the mood in the house, I stick him in these.  It doesn't help with his pain, but it certainly makes me smile. 

Woohoo! Big Butt Baby Pants!!  So fast, so easy, I may not be purchasing pants for a loooong time.

Owl Hat

I've only been talking about making this owl hat since the fall.  This little beauty is crocheted; a skill I've put on the back-burner for the past few...years...so I was glad to dust off the ol' crochet hooks.

This is attempt #2.  The first was WAAAAYYYY too big and will be stowed away until Rowan's noggin is larger.  It could take a few years, and I realize that I may forget that I have it....but one can always hope.

Old Blue helped keep the wee man quite cozy on the Rideau canal at Winterlude!  He slept through the first 5km and woke up to demand some lunch the same time it started to snow heavily.  I was quite content to spend some time in a heated chalet while most of my friends completed the remaining 2.8km.

He was the perfect age (6 months today!) for Winterlude this year.  Old enough to sit (great for restaurants, as shown above), but young enough to not yet be mobile and squirmy. 

A big THANKS to Sarah for the Winterlude photos!  My camera battery died before I was able to get any pictures of us on the canal.  You'd think I would have brought my battery charger as the same thing happened last year!

 Owl Hat Outtake:

I had to include this...caught the sneeze!  Hee hee!

Cuttlebug!

My new toy arrived this morning!! 

It's a belated Christmas gift (from myself) that I found at The Scrapbook Cottage.  The cuttlebug is a little embosser and die cut machine and for whatever reason, it's in very high demand.  It was on back order so many times, I thought it would never arrive!

My Aunt Debbie made some gorgeous Christmas cards this year (and wouldn't you know it, I can't find the card to show you!) with her cuttlebug, and after a long conversation, I realized it was the one little thing missing in my paper-crafts paraphernalia. 

I was playing around with it for a little while...albeit, I only have two embossing folders.  I received the owl for free - how did they know about my obsession with owls?! :)  Fortunately for me (but not my wallet) I live within walking distance from a Michael's; I surveyed the die cut/embosser folder stock before I purchased the machine.  Let's just say: J-a-c-k-p-o-t. 

I played around with ink, but I think I need to get the proper applicator and not use textured paper....that just doesn't look good. 
There's a project that I will need it for, but you'll have to wait a little while before I can put up the post.

Have a great Family Day weekend!

My Valentine's Day FAILURE

May I make a confession?

I've never been a huge fan of Valentine's Day.  Christmas and Hallowe'en are my kind of holidays.  It's a personal choice, and I do not wish to discuss the details of it over the blog.  No need to be labeled a 'Debbie Downer'.

Regardless of my convictions, I did get into a lukewarm lovey-dovey mood this year. 

It was sweet.

Super sweet.

My nearest and dearest were SUPPOSE to get edible Valentines in the mail.

Along with some nifty magnets that I saw at Crafts By Amanda and just HAD to make.

Both gifts were inspired by the conversation hearts that turn up this time of year.  I'm not keen on their flavour (or chalky-ness...eww!) but I do like the pastel colours that are used.

Where does the failure part come in?  Well, they were too bulky to send through the mail.  Correction:  too expensive to send through the mail due to their bulkiness.  Even after repacking them.....twice.  I have two friends living out west that I will not be seeing for a little while, so I made an exception for them.  I managed to hand deliver a few and share some at a mum/baby play group.  I guess it wasn't a complete fail :)

So, to the rest of you, I love you bunches and I promise to get my act together next year!

Frames, Flowers and Baby Leggings

I have exactly two hours and 45 mins before I (and baby) need to be packed and ready to go away for the weekend and what am I doing?  Trying to slap a blog post together last minute.  AND to make matters worse, there are three separate things I wanted to share to make up for my lack of posts this week.

Numero uno:  My new frames.

I LOVE shopping at Value Village.  I've never been able to find clothing that I like (except for a brown leather belt that I adore) but I regularly find some great deals in the housewares department.  I have an addiction to buying glass jars (another post for the future) and picture frames!  I found some frames that had 'good bones' but need some help otherwise.  They ranged in price from $3 for a pack of 4 up to $8 for one of the larger ones.  S-C-O-R-E.

Nothing a little black spray paint with a satin finish can't fix.  I really like when things don't match perfectly.  I dunno...I think it's more interesting.  But that's just me.

Isn't he just the handsomest?  Thanks again to Kennedy for taking these adorable photos! 

Photo collages are one of my favourite things.  The first time I did it, I had major headaches trying to make sure the pictures lined up and were evenly spaced, yadda, yadda, yadda.  A few months ago, my brother-in-law Mark let me in on a secret...

 

 

...trace each frame onto newspaper, cut out and put them on the wall!  So genius!  Isn't the second picture scary?  I'm in the middle of getting my craft/home office room together and it lives in a constant state of disgusting disarray. 

Anyway, back to putting up the photos.  To make life easier on myself, I put a dot where the hanger is on the back of the frame so that I would know exactly where to place the nail.

Want another gross craft room picture?

AHHHHH!!!  :)

Seeing that Monday is Valentine's Day, my second topic is FLOWERS!

Aren't they beautiful?  They're nine days old!

I learned a secret for keeping flowers fresh from the very nice gentleman who sells flowers at the market.  Bleach.  Really.  1/2 teaspoon of bleach in 1 litre of water (with a tsp each of sugar and lemon juice) really extends the life of cut flowers.  I had always just used the little packet of who-knows-what that comes with them.  This is so much better!  Maybe you've got your own secret? 

Last topic:

We're spending the weekend in Ottawa for Winterlude.  I wanted to make sure my little tyke would stay cozy while gliding down the canal, so I made him two pairs of baby tights (to wear like long underwear) from the tutorial over at Made By Rae.  
Hehe!!

Alright, I need to pack!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Birthday Deanna!

 My dear friend Deanna is celebrating her birthday today!  And since she's very far away (spending a few weeks in France before jetting to Indonesia....I know!) , I thought Rowan and I would sent her a shout out over the blog:

Dee, that flower was sacrificed for you...it lost half its petals and was nearly ingested :)

A little while ago, I told Deanna that I was knitting her something for her birthday.  I saw this yarn...

 

...and it spoke to me.  A beautiful, silky grey/blue was just perfect for the project I had in mind.  

 

 

 Uhhhh, yeah.  It's not done yet.  And I'm not disclosing what it is because that would ruin the surprise!  I will confess, I kept pushing it aside in favour of finishing other projects because I knew it would be a little while before she would be back in the country to receive her gift.   Forgive me, Dee! :)

"Hey Anne, why'd ya take a picture of your breakfast?"  You might be wondering.  Well, I decided to have a very French breakfast this morning in honour of the Birthday Girl.  After I collected everything, I realized that I had made 3/5ths of my breakfast myself.  Also very French!  I made the strawberry jam (after picking those berries while 8 months pregnant),  the yogurt (from 3% milk; because French women don't believe in non-fat...haha) and the bread.  I started making yogurt a few years ago when the accumulation of plastic containers started to get to me.  Not just in my house, but also in the recycling bin.  Recycling is great - but it uses up a lot of energy!  I like to put more emphasis on the first 'R' (reduce...in case you've forgotten!) whenever possible. 

Off to the post office - we've got Valentine's to mail :)

Little Miss Domestic Diva

What do you send to your niece for her 4th birthday?

Well, if you spot her serving up some delish pumpkin cake (masquerading as wooden blocks) during the Christmas holidays, you best sew up a hostess apron!

I may have an addiction to making things reversible.  Cute bubbly, flowery pattern on one side, an old pair of jeans on the other.  And of course, pockets to match!

'B' is for Brianna!  How cute is she?  (Psssst, notice that the ribbon matches her shirt?  Eerily amazing.)