Vote for me!

date night 12

Nicole from the Lillyella blog {one of my daily reads} is having a contest for Casual Date Night outfits under $80, and the photo above is my entry.  So, head on over and vote for your favorite {which I'm sure will be mine!}.  Oh, and if I win I can choose one of these lovely necklaces {can you guess which I'd choose?}:

Thanks for your support!

So Good: Ramen Chicken Salad

I wish I could say that we ate a varied diet, but instead we have a few regulars, one of them being this Ramen Chicken Salad.  I got the recipe from a friend of mine in college, and have modified it a bit, mostly the dressing.  I didn't make it for years because it didn't seem to be the kind of meal Josiah would like, but it turned out to be an easy favorite.  We usually eat it as dinner, but it makes a great side or potluck dish too.

Ingredients:

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
2 Tbs Canola Oil
1 package Oriental Flavor Ramen, crunched
2/3 cup Almonds, sliced
1 package Coleslaw
1/4 cup Green Onions

Dressing:

1 package Ramen Seasoning
2 1/2 Tbs Sugar
3 1/2 Tbs Rice Vineger
2/3 cup Canola Oil

Cook chicken breasts and shred into bite size pieces, set aside.  Heat oil over in a pan over medium heat, add crunched Ramen an sliced almonds. Cook until golden brown, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  In a large bowl mix coleslaw, green onions, chicken, and Ramen mix, set aside.  In a separate bowl wisk together Ramen seasoning, sugar, and vinegar, add Canola Oil.  Pour over coleslaw mix and toss thoroughly.

27...

things you may not {want to} know about me, I:

1.  majored in Literature in college
2.  had braces at my wedding
3.  own a lot of purple clothes
4.  knit my own slippers
5.  painted almost every room in my house
6.  drive a stick-shift car
7.  love shortbread cookies
8.  decorate with my leftover yarn
9.  take hundreds of photos of baby
10. made my first quilt in high school
11. buy a lot of magazines
12. don't like to fly
13. live in my dream house
14. have a collection of Coach bags
15. wear earrings {almost} every day
16. have multiple green jackets
17. enjoy having candles around the house
18. don't like to drink water
19. wear bifocals
20. grew up near Seattle
21. write with colored pens
22. spent a summer working at camp
23. love tomatoes
24. have watched every season of Project Runway
25. eat at Panera whenever I get a chance
26. want to garden
27. today is my birthday of the same number

...where has the time gone?

Happy National Quilting Day!

Bits of Spring by QuiltPetaler

While reading the Etsy Finds e-mail I discovered today is National Quilting Day, who knew?  I'm hoping to get a little bit of quilting done today, but have been busy cleaning up this morning in preparation for some special guests arriving tonight.  So, I'll be leaving you with a little bit from the newsletter:

You know you are a quilter if...
There's more fabric in the house than food.
"Fat Quarters" are not the heaviest part of your body.
Your ironing board is always set up, but you never iron clothes.
You think of your job as an interruption on your quilting time.
You pet fabric.
People are always picking threads off of you.
You can measure a scant 1/4 by eye.
"Featherweight" doesn't mean boxer.
Your "UFOs" are not from outer space.
You clean up your sewing room and they think you are leaving.

Does any of this sound familiar?!

Date Night

Last night Josiah had staff duty (i.e. he had to work until all the helicopter flights came in...fortunately, it was only until about midnight), so the little one and I had a date and watched one of my favorite movies, Emma. So we cuddled on the couch, he slept, and I watched. Not only do I love the storyline, but I really love the clothes {and especially the hats!}.

{don't you just want to own this hat?}

Cloth Diapers: bumGenius 3.0 one-size

The first diapers in my stash I'm going to review are the one-size bumGenius 3.0.  These seem to be a universal favorite among cloth diaper users, and were actually recommended to me by the first friend I asked about cloth diapering, so naturally, I decided to try a few.  Here's a snapshot of the features:

 
After a few uses it was easy to see why these are so well liked.  I found the shortest rise setting was great for my little one, and the stretchy Velcro tabs allowed for a great fit in the waist that could be adjusted a little bit at a time, as opposed to snaps.  The inserts that came with are great too.  I started with the newborn/doubler, but have already switched to the one-size.  I really like the way the snap allows for extra absorbency in the front as well.  BumGenius were designed to look and work like a disposable, and they do live up to that concept.  One of my favorite features is the insert stopper, on other diapers without this I have had the occasional wicking experience if I didn't put the diapers on just right, this has never happened with a bumGenius! 

Sporting a bumGenius in butternut, cute, huh?

While I really like these diapers, there are a few drawbacks too.  My least favorite thing is that the Velcro tabs need to be fastened to the back of the diaper before washing, but that can sometimes mean handling the back of a dirty diaper to fasten the Velcro tabs.  Also, the tabs seem to collect lint more than my other Aplix diapers, I'm not sure why.  I'm sure I'll be adding a few more of these to my stash eventually, now, if only they cam in more colors!

P.S. I have purchased these diapers myself and this review was not compensated in any way!

Back to Work

 

Today was my first real attempt at sewing since little one was born...nedless to say, I didn't get much accomplished {besides snapping this cute photo of him while in his swing}. In spite of the yawn, it wasn't long before he was tired of it. Amazingly, he can sleep so soundly as long as I hold him, I guess I'll be a couch potato a little longer!

Using Cloth

 ...diapers, that is.  It's true, I've decided to use cloth diapers with my little guy.  We're only on week two, but it is turning out to be as easy as I had heard {and hoped} it would be.  I admit I feel a little hesitant sharing {on this blog or in person} the fact that I've decided to cloth diaper because of potential criticism.  However, I'm not going to worry about it, and instead, show you how cloth diapers are working for me {and if for some reason they stop working, I'll let you know about that too}.  I know that using cloth isn't for everyone, but, being a stay-at-home mom, I figured I'd give it a try.

So far my stash is pretty little, which means a little bit more urgent and carefully planned laundry for now.  I've purchased a couple of a few different types of diapers because I know that different people have different favorites, so this way I could see which were my favorite and then buy mostly those diapers.  I decided to use mostly pocket diapers because they have the convinience of an all-in-one, but can be adjusted with different inserts.  I also purchased some prefolds and diaper covers to pad my stash for now.  I've been using everything only with the inserts that came with them, that way I will know which I like best straight off the shelf {or out of the package in this case}.  Over the next few weeks I'll be giving my honest opinion about each type.  Since being a mom has added a bunch of new aspects to my life, I plan to share my adventures with you, but don't worry, I'm only adding to my blogging, not switching gears.  So, stay tuned!