Worst.Blogger.Ever.

Seriously.  It has been 2 weeks since I last posted.  A lot has happened in those two weeks.  Sorry I suck; I'm pregnant and at this point I'm just counting down the minutes until The Sailor gets home from deployment...

Here's everything you've missed...

I printed/framed/hung up the pet silhouettes for the nursery!  I absolutely love them.  I think I'm going to put a quote (in vinyl) above or beneath them...

You can also see that I did some stenciling on the lamp shade!  Another project that I absolutely adore.

My Mom got us our carseat, stroller, and the conversion kit so that the carseat can go in the stroller.  We decided to go with the Graco Snugride 25 and the Baby Jogger City Mini.  At this point I couldn't be happier with these products, but I'll have to actually review them once The Seamonkey gets here!

Gabby loves to steal the spotlight

I climbed my pregnant ass up on a chair and hung the lanterns above the changing table.  Yet another project that turned out even better than I thought it would.  And I used my leftover pinwheels from my DIY mobile by attaching them to the underside of the lanterns!

You can also see the hanging basket on the wall that will be used to hold diapering accessories!

I sewed some diaper covers!!!  My sewing machine finally got here from Pittsburgh and I dove into my first project.  They are far from perfect (the seams are a little wonky) but I love them!  I used all Babyville Boutique products - PUL, elastic, velcro, and even the pattern - which can be found at Joann Fabrics.  The dinosaur one (on the left) is newborn size and the monster one (on the right) is size small.

Lola got spayed!  And while she was all drugged up post-op she totally looked like Doby the House Elf from Harry Potter, hahahaha.

And finally, I prepped (aka washed a million times) all my cloth diapers and supplies and organized and put them away in the dresser.  I even stuffed all the pockets and origami folded the flats!  And I 100% accept the fact that this stuff will never be this organized again...

And I know I still owe you all initial reviews on the diapers I bought.  I promise I'll get around to that.  I think I might vlog them, but I'm not sure yet...thoughts?

So, that's what I failed to post about the past two weeks.  Again, I apologize.  If there is anything I mentioned here that you are dying to read more about (aka have me write a post dedicated to it) just let me know and I'd be more than happy to!

Until next time...

Nursery Organization - Phase 1

Oh.my.goodness.  What a pain in the ass that was!  Yesterday I spent the day organizing, washing, and putting away everything I had crammed in the closet in the nursery.  But, I feel so, so, so much better now!  In case you forgot, this is what the closet looked like:

It may not look like that much, but once I pulled it all out and started organizing it (by size for clothes, and just by what it is for everything else) you could see how much there really was in there.  (FYI - I had already put all the newborn clothes in the laundry, so some is actually missing from this picture)

Yeah...that's a lot of stuff.  The whole floor was covered so I resorted to hanging stuff of boxes and covering the chair in stuff.  Tom enjoyed it quite a bit...

 And again:

And can I just complain for a second?  Why the hell do they feel the need to package baby clothes so intensely???  It took me forever to remove all the hangers, tags, boxes, etc. from the new clothes I had, and only like 1/4 of the clothes I had were new! (The rest were used so they obviously didn't have tags on them anymore)  When there was a hanger with like 5 onesies each freaking onesie was attached to all the others in like five freaking places!  And you have to make sure you get all those horrible plastic pieces out, because I'm pretty sure babies wouldn't appreciate being stabbed by tag holders every time you get them dressed.

Since our utilities are included in our rent I wasn't worried about doing a million loads of laundry, but if we did pay our utilities I would have definitely washed everything first and then organized by size.  (I didn't even think about it until after I had organized it all, in all honesty.)  But yeah, after a day of organizing, washing, and putting away clothes, hats, bibs, blankets, baby legs, socks (baby socks are the devil, by the way), and even my Moby Wrap (which I had gotten directly from the Moby Wrap site for 25% off after Christmas) I turned that big hot mess into this:

And look, you can see the floor again:

So, a little more info on the method behind my organization madness.  The fancy schmancy organizer in the middle is from Target (this one - cost $25) and the organizers on either side are technically for shoes and I got them from Marshall's (for $5 a piece - so $10 in all).  The top left slot has newborn sized clothes and they're broken down by onesies, jammies, bottoms, and rompers.  Below that is 0-3 month size and going down the sizes get bigger and they continue on the top right.  As the Seamonkey grows out of the smaller clothes I pull them from the organizers and there will be more room for bigger clothes (as I get bigger clothes).

In the middle organizer there is a bunch of random stuff: shoes, swaddles, receiving blankets, binkies, hats, etc. and the bin at the bottom is all socks (did I mention baby socks are the devil?).  I figure once the Little Man is here I'll probably move that stuff around to wherever makes sense.  And, the whole left side of the closet is still empty, so I've got plenty of room for more stuff!

Now you may be wondering what the hell I'm going to be putting in my lovely dresser...diapers, obviously! (So that may not be that obvious, but cloth diapering supplies require a good amount of space!)  And, that'll be "nursery organization phase 2."  I just have to prep all the diapers, line the drawers of the dresser, and put it all away!

Did I mention this is my week 30 update?  I really don't feel any different from week to week, I just feel bigger (and I feel the Little Man move around more) so if I were to continue doing weekly update posts they'd be pretty damn boring.  I will say, I recently invested in a 2 inch memory foam mattress pad and my back and my ability to sleep have improved tenfold.  I 110% recommend getting a nice mattress pad to any pregnant ladies who are struggling to find a comfortable way to sleep!

Until next time...

As always, you can see the whole progression of belly photos on the Pregnancy tab of my blog!

**All images used in the post are personal photos**

OOTD - Maternity Style - "Breakfast with the girls"

Okay, so I didn't actually go for "breakfast with the girls" in this outfit; that's just a total Sex and the City reference.  You know, the kind of outfit that is comfortable, casual, but still put together...

 And the surprise back (which was terrible to photograph on my own, lol)

The entire outfit is from Motherhood; the sweater is from last summer (I got it on clearance at the beginning of fall), the jeans I got on clearance at the beginning of December (they're my "nice" maternity jeans, lol), and it's a navy blue maternity tank.

The shoes I got on clearance from DSW (for $15!!!) and they don't carry them anymore.  Yes, they have a 3 1/2 heel, but they are seriously the most comfortable shoes ever.  They feel like they were made for my feet.

And the necklace is a gold/silver key on a 30 inch chain by Premiere Designs (a direct sales company).

So, there you have it, my maternity version of a "breakfast with the girls"-type outfit!  What do you think?

Until next time...

Nursery Updates!!!

Since January is coming to a close, I figured I'd give you some nursery updates!!!  Here's my original to-do list (from earlier this month):


Things I need to buy:

• Crib mattress - I got this from Target ($60)
• Shelves (I want floating shelves for the wall, not like a book case)
• Crib bedding set - I got this from Target ($100 - on sale when I purchased it)

• Paper lanterns - I got a variety of sizes from The Paper Lantern Store ($30).  I still need to hang these though
• Hooks and baskets - I got these  from Target ($20)

And here are the DIY projects I have lined up:

• Final touches to my crib 
• Refinish my dresser/changing table combo
• Mobile for over the crib
• Print, mat, and frame the pet silhouettes - coming soon!!!

On top of that, a few random things:

• Make the final decision on my rocker/glider.  My Dad is going to be buying this for us/the baby, but I need to decide what I actually want!

I went with this glider from Babies R Us.  The blanket and pillow on the chair came with the bedding set.  The lamp is from Home Goods ($40), the side table was kinda a splurge from Overstock ($57), the circles above the chair are mirror wall decals I got from Totsy ($7 - Totsy is a flash sale site; if you  don't have an account already you should make one here!!!), and the stuffed puppy I got at Marshall's on clearance because it was dirty but once through the wash and it's fine ($7)!

 And again (with the shades closed and the light on):

And a close-up of the mirror wall decals:

• Prep the diapers I've purchased already.  When you use cloth diapers you have to wash them a few times before you use them in order to maximize their absorbency.
• Wash all the clothes I've gotten.  There's the stuff I've bought (or other people have bought) and on top of that I just bought a bunch of used baby stuff and it came with a bunch of clothes, but more on that on my weekly update this week!
• Put away/organize all the diapers, baby cloths, etc.
• Figure out what I forgot to put on this list and do that too, lol. - This is going to be ongoing, lol

New Additions to the List:

• Do some stenciling on the lampshade
• Create labels for the closet organizers I purchased
• Frame/hang an animal/alphabet print I got off Zulily (another Flash Sale site; if you don't have an account with them you should totally make one here!)
• Cut out a quote (which quote is still under debate) in vinyl using my Cricut (once it gets here from Pittsburgh - yes, I'm still waiting to get some of my stuff from Pittsburgh) to stick on the wall.

And here's what the rest of the nursery currently looks like at this point.  It's shameful; but I know once I start hanging things and organizing the clothes/diapers it'll all come together...

 I promise I'll be posting about all the cloth diapers I've purchased soon!!!


I forget how much I spent on the night light, but it was next to nothing; I got it from Marshall's.  I also still have to figure out what to do with all my extra pinwheels; some of them will be hung up with the lanterns (above the changing table) but I'm not sure about the rest.

 This wall has become a place for me to place random crap.  AKA this wall is a hot mess.

 Here's a close-up of my favorite books from when I was little, I stole these from my Mom while I was home for Christmas, haha.  The top one is In the Night Kitchen and the other four are the Good Dog Carl books that are about the shenanigans that a baby and her pet rottweiler get into when the Mom let's the rottweiler babysit the baby, hahahaha.

 The organizers are already hanging in the closet, I just need to wash all the clothes (on the floor and on the top shelf in the closet) and put them away!  And yes, the door is currently off it's hinges; I had to remove it to get the rocking chair in the room and I'm having trouble putting it back up.  The Sailor can do it when he gets home.  And hanging on the door is the Vera Bradley Diaper Bag my Dad got me for Christmas!

So there you have it!  Despite all the progress I've made this month, the nursery is currently in shambles, hahaha.  Next time you see it will probably be once everything is done, but I will obviously share pictures of the DIY projects I complete between now and then!

Did your nursery look like a hot mess for a while before it all came together or were you super organized from the start?

Until next time...

**All images are personal photos**

Knitting Project - "Converse" Baby Booties!!!

I originally found the pattern for this project here, but it has been slightly altered and I'm adding more basic instructions for those of us who aren't expert knitters!  Plus, I'm adding like 203,948,239,048 more pictures so you know you're on track as you go along with the project!

Yay - I'm finally getting around to posting about my knit "Converse" booties!  They're absolutely adorable, and they're a total hit!  And despite the long list of skills you'll have to use to complete the pattern they really aren't that difficult.  I totally had like 9 tabs open on my browser while I was working on these so when I forgot how to  do something I already had the YouTube video open, hahahaha.

Skills Used:

Yarn Over (yo) - Good demonstration

Slip Knit Pass (skp) - Good demonstration

Wrap & Turn (turn) - Good demonstration 

Slip (sl)

Purl two together (p2tog)

Pass Slipped Stitch Over - single decrease (psso) - Good demonstration (for this pattern, use the second example in the video)

Knit two together (k2tog)

Slip slip knit (ssk) - Good demonstration 

Materials:

Main Color - Red (MC)
Contrast Color 1 -White (CC1)
Contrast Color 2 -Black (CC2)
I used a worsted weight yarn for this project
1 pair size 5 and 6 straight needles

Other Supplies

Large-eye yarn needle
White felt
Sewing needle & black thread
Small, star shaped button to match the MC

Pattern

To Begin
With smaller needles and CC1 cast on 26 stitches and knit 1 row.
Row 1: k1, yo, k11, [yo, k1] twice, yo, k11, yo, k1.
Row 2, 4, 6, 8, 10: knit (when you reach the yo knit in the back of the stitch).
Row 3: k2, yo, k11, yo, k2, yo, k3, yo, k11, yo, k2.
Row 5: k3, yo, k11, [yo, k4] twice, yo, k11, yo, k3.
Row 7: k4, yo, k11, yo, k5, yo, k6, yo, k11, yo, k4
Row 9: k5, yo, k11, [yo, k7] twice, yo, k11, yo, k5

The increases used in this first part created different direction slants that will help shape the bootie.  In this picture I highlighted those "seams" with purple lines:

Next - Change to larger needles

Row 11: knit across using CC1
Row 12: purl with CC1
Row 13: knit across using CC2 (this is the black stripe along the bottom)

Row 14: purl CC1
Row 15: knit CC1
Row 16: purl CC1
Row 17: knit MC
Row 18: p19 MC, p13 CC1, p19 MC

Shape Instep

Using MC and CC.
Row 1: k19 MC, k10 CC1, SKP CC1, turn.
Row 2: sl 1, p7CC1, p2tog, turn.
Row 3: sl 1, k7, SKP, turn.
Row 4: sl 1, p7, p2tog, turn.
Row 5: sl 1, k7 CC1, sl 1 CC1, k1 MC, psso, turn 
Row 6: sl 1, p7 CC1, p2tog MC, turn.
Row 7: sl 1, k7 CC1, SKP MC, turn.
Row 8: sl 1, p1 MC, p5 CC1, p1 MC, p2tog, turn.
Row 9: sl 1, k2 MC, k3 CC1, k2 MC, SKP, turn.

Using MC only now

Row 10: sl 1, p7, p2tog, turn.
Row 11: sl 1, k7, SKP, turn.
Row 12: sl 1, p7, p2tog, turn.
Row 13: sl 1, k7, SKP, turn.
Row 14: sl 1, p7, p2tog, turn.
Row 15: sl 1, k7, SKP, knit to the end of the row.
Row 16: p 21, p 2 tog, purl to the end of the row (35 stitches).

Side One

Row 1: k11, yo, k2tog, k1 (place remaining stitches on stitch holder) (FYI - by doing a yarn over and then a decrease you're creating little holes for the laces)
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: k11, k2tog, k1
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: k10, yo, k2tog, k1
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: k10, k2tog, k1
Row 8: Purl
Row 9: k9, yo, k2tog, k1
Row 10: Purl
Row 11: k9, k2tog, k1
Row 12: knit
Row 13: knit

Bind Off

Side two

Place 14 stitches from the stitch holder back onto your needle
Row 1: k1, ssk, yo, k11
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: k1, ssk, k11
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: k1, ssk, yo, k10
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: k1, ssk, k10
Row 8: Purl
Row 9: k1, ssk, yo, k9
Row 10: Purl
Row 11: k1, ssk, k9
Row 12: Knit
Row 13: Knit

Bind Off

Tongue

Place the final 7 Stitches from the Stitch marker onto the needle.
Row 1: k across
Row 2: p across
Rows 3, 5, 7 & 9: k across
Rows 4, 6, 8 & 10: k1, p5, k1
Row 11: ssk, k3, k2tog
Row 12: p across

Bind Off

To finish

Using your large-eye yarn needle stitch up the bottom and up the back of the bootie.  For this, I have found that stitching it up with the project inside-out creates a more refined finish.

For the laces you can either create an I-cord, do a single row of crocheting, or (like me) just make a simple braid!  16 inches is a sufficient length for the laces.

And the most important finishing touch is the star emblem!  For this, I cut out a circle of white felt and hand stitched it onto the outer side of the bootie (either side can be the outer side, just make sure you don't sew it onto the same side of both of the booties in the pair) using black thread.  Then I attached a small, star shaped button in the center of the white circle.

Et voila - totally authentic looking converse booties!

These fit a 10 month old nicely, so I would say they could fit anywhere from a 6 month old to an 18 month old (especially since there is a good amount of stretch since they're knit).  I'm going to work on making a smaller (newborn) sized pair and if I figure it out I'll post that as well.

These have been a huge hit on my Facebook page (which can be found here) and I've already sold a light pink pair and now I'm working on a hot pink pair!

If you have any questions about the pattern, feel free to ask!  And if not, I'm always open to compliments on my work, hahaha.


Until next time...

**All images used in this post are personal photos**

DIY - Mobile for the Nursery!

I'm super excited with how this project turned out and the pictures really don't do it justice!  Hopefully once The Sailor gets home and can actually hang it (from the ceiling) for me I'll be able to get some better pictures!  But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Here are the supplies I used:

Personal Photo

Here's a breakdown...top row (starting on the left):

• Needlenose pliers
• Crimping beads
• Slightly elastic, clear thread (found in the jewelry making section of Michaels)
• Clear beads
• Inner hoop of 3 different sized embroidery hoops.  I had already spray painted these gray (when I was working on the dresser) and I actually only ended up using 2 of them.

Bottom row (again, starting on the left)

• Pinwheels! I used 4 in x 4 in squares of paper and the instructions found here.  Since the paper I found that I liked was one-sided I had to glue two pieces together and I just used a glue stick to do this.  Then the brad I used to secure it all together was actually a little rhinestone to add a little sparkle!  I didn't use all of these (I went a little overboard when I was making them, lol) - I only used 5 of them - but I'll find a way to use the rest in another part of the nursery!!!
• Adhesives - but I only used the hot glue gun for this project.

Step 1:

Attach the two embroidery hoops to one another.  I used the string and just cut out 4 pieces that were the same length and spaced them evenly around the hoop (using hot glue).

Personal Photo

Step 2:

String the pinwheels so they can be hung from the embroidery hoops.  To do this, first I cut a length of the string and put a crimping bead on the very end - all you have to do is hold the crimping bead in the needlenose pliers and compress in on the very end of the string.  Then I put one of the larger, clear beads on the string:

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Step 3:

Attach the pinwheel to the beaded string.  All I did for this was put a glob of hot glue on the back of the pinwheel and use that to adhere the clear bead to the pinwheel:

Personal Photo

Step 4:

Create strings of beads for added interest.  So, in order to not make the mobile look too cluttered I ended up deciding to hang 2 pinwheels from the bottom hoop, 2 from the top, and 1 down the middle.  To add a little more visual interest I decided to create 2 strings of the clear beads to hang from the bottom and top hoops.  I created these using the crimping beads just like in step 2.

Step 5:

Attach two pinwheels and two strings of beads to the lower hoop.  I did this with the hot glue:

Personal Photo

Step 6:

Attach two pinwheels and two strings of beads to the upper hoop.  I did this with the hot glue.

Step 7:

Attach 4 identical length pieces of ribbon to the top hoop to be used to hang the mobile from.  They need to be the same length and be equally spaced around the top hoop; I attached them with hot glue.  Then I tied the four pieces of ribbon together in the middle.

Step 8:

Attach 1 pinwheel to the knot in the hanging-ribbon:

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At this point you really could be done!!  But, I didn't like that you could see the hot glue blobs on the inside of the hoops so I decided to cover that.

Step 9:

Cover the inside of the two hoops with ribbon.  For this I just used double sided tape.

Et voila, a DIY pinwheel mobile for the nursery:

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Yes, I'm holding the mobile with a banana hook, lol

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Isn't it pretty???  And super simple/in-expensive.  My best guess would be that I spent $15 on supplies for this project - can't beat that!

Until next time...