Pinterest Project: Felt Garland

Garland is everywhere these days and I love it. I pinned this cute scalloped garland and used it as inspiration to make a colorful garland for Zara's room.

http://pikkupikkupisaroita.blogspot.fi/2013/07/vitosen-tapetti.html

I used left over felt that I've had around forever, I didn't even measure or use a stencil, just started cutting out little half circles. Then I piled all the colors up in random order and started sewing them together. It took about 10 minutes from beginning to end and I think it turned out pretty fun. I wish there was more bright pink but I was was working with what I had. 

Six Months Old

Little Miss Zara Mae is already six months old! Half a year! 

Zara, congratulations on surviving your first southern, hot and humid summer! You are getting so big. You can sit up really well on your own  and you enjoy sitting up while you take your baths now. You are eating lots of different kinds of food like peaches, pears, peas and mango's. You are turning into a little chatterbox and it's pretty adorable. You will string a whole bunch of sounds together and look at us like "did you get that? What do you think?". You are starting to scoot around on your belly across the floor towards things that interest you like remotes, wipes bags, or any sort of paper. You can finally sit in the cart at the store like a big kid, and it makes shopping much easier. You stick your tongue out all the time! It is so funny! Lately you like to gnaw on a slice of apple or a celery stick. We are having so much fun with you and can't believe it's already been six months! 

I'm the boss here!

Little Zara 3 months ago, what a difference a few months makes. 

Pinterest Project: 7/365

I've seen this miraculous grout cleaner going around on Pinterest for awhile and decided I would finally try it out. All the ingredients were ones I already had in my kitchen, just baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, and water! I also added a little bit of Lemon essential oil just to make it smell extra nice. I poured the solution into a spray bottle and got to work, I think it worked pretty good for being homemade and bleach free. And it really did smell like lemons.

Pinterest Project: 6/365

I saw a tutorial on Pinterest about how to make your own "You Are Special Today" plate and knew I had to try it out. It's from a new blog by Pottery Barn Kids that is pretty cute. Growing up our plate was red with white lettering and saved for special occasions and birthdays.

This project was so easy and fun! I took all the supplies to craft group with me last night, it was actually a craft group/So You Think You Can Dance finale party, and finished it in about 20 minutes then spent the rest of the time catching up and watching the show. This morning all I had to do was pop it in the oven to make the ink permanent. 

Labor Day Weekend: Part 2

We went out to a hamburger place and had a fun time eating outside and trying some new things like curry ketchup, it was really good! Grandma gave Zara some water from a cup and you can tell that Zara thought it was pretty great. I love the squinty smile. She also had fun gnawing on some sweet potato fries.

We went to a museum downtown called the Frist because it has a really cool Art Deco car exhibit going on right now. The cars were ginormous, really, so much larger than cars today and they were all in sparkling condition. Dusty and I thought that some of the old cars there were more futuristic than any cars we see now days.

 They also had an exhibit from the movie Wasteland about an artist in Brazil who made artwork out of trash from the landfills. It was really neat to see that exhibit in person.

Zara's new ride, this van was really something else, can you imagine piling all the kids in it for a road trip? How fun?!

They give you a sticker with the date on it when you go in the museum and Zara wanted all of them. She peeled Grandma's right off her shirt.

Grandma and Grandpa read to Zara every night they were here, I mean really read, I think one night they read 8 books or something. I'm pretty sure Zara Mae loved every second of it. One night Dusty and I sat on the couch to listen and just soak it all in. 

Grandma set Zara up at Target with a nice cushy seat.

Saying good bye is hard. Thanks so much for coming and spending the holiday weekend with us! We had so much fun with you!

Pinterest Project 5/365

This recipe for Taco Chicken Bowls is from Pinterest and it turned out really yummy! Sometimes when I make something new and it's not so yummy Dusty will say "....is this from pinterest?" Epic Fail. 

But these Taco Chicken Bowls were tasty and super easy to make in the crock pot and it made my house smell great. Here is the recipe, you should at least check her website because her picture of the finished product is about 10 million times more appetizing! It calls for a whole entire jar of salsa but we only had 1 jar of salsa left and I still wanted some left over for chips and salsa so I only added half a jar and then added a can of diced tomatoes.

Pinterest Project: 4/365

I pinned this tutorial on how to make a little headband a while ago and today I finally got around to making one. The tutorial says to use a stretchy knit so I just used an old shirt that was too small for me. It was a little hard to sew with the knit because I don't sew with knits very often. I like this headband because when she grows I can adjust it and make it bigger by just retying the knot

And on another note....I was out with a friend and we spotted this cute rocking chair at a garage sale! Lots of houses here have their garages round back by their backyards so you can't see them from the road. We just barely spotted this chair from the road and hopped out right away to snag it. The lady was cute and was telling me about how it used to be her daughter's. Now I just have to decide if I want to paint it or not. I think I might just leave it plain and make a little cushion,

Labor Day Weekend With Grandma and Grandpa

We had some really fun guests this past Labor Day Weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Walkenhorst! We had so much fun just hanging out and Zara loved all the attention, she was totally smiling the whole weekend. We had a blast just all sitting around the table or on the floor watching Zara do whatever she was doing, whatever it was it was always "the cutest thing we've ever seen". Dusty and I even got to go out on a date! I think I will share a few pictures now and a few later on in the week. 

Eating is a lot more fun with Grandma! 

Lately Zara loves pens, here she is twirling one around with Grandma.

Grandpa even showed her how to write on a pad of paper and she was thrilled. 

Grandpa and Zara had a good time hanging out solo. Sometimes they went for a walk or just sat outside together.

Stay tuned for more fun times!

Pinterest Project: 3/365

We heart Nashville! I've been seeing these state silhouettes on Pinterest where you take the state you live in and then put a little heart where you live. So here is Tennessee, it sort of looks like a gun....I made it for Zara's room. It was really easy to make! I just found the state of TN on Google and then cut it out on my Cameo and used an old Ikea frame that we broke the glass to. 

Fun Times

A couple of weeks ago my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Greg came to Nashville for a work conference. We were so lucky to get to see them for a bit! Aunt Debbie, Zara and I hung out Friday afternoon and got some yummy lunch downtown in Franklin and then we walked around the Carnton Plantation and it's confederate army cemetery. On Sunday they came to our ward and it was awesome. They entertained Zara the entire time, Zara's favorite toy was a lipstick lid that Aunt Debbie happened to have in her purse. Afterwards they came over and we had dinner and chatted. It is always so nice to see family!