Fabric Explosion

Joann's is having a really decent sale this weekend. They mailed me a coupon for 25% off my entire purchase. Naturally, this had me all in a tizzy. When Boyfriend and I went out for a morning drive, I asked that we make a pit stop there so I could check some stuff out. I needed to get more cute baby-related flannel as well as maybe some soft chenille-y fabric. Plus, I have a plan to make myself a cute skirt and I wanted to get something springy for that. Lucky for me, all of the fabric you see below (this is just my haul from today... I might have a problem) was on sale! And then I had the coupon! It was a steal.

Of course, I have not yet done anything in the way of sewing aside from washing all of my new fabric, but I'll get there. Not tonight, though! Boyfriend and I are going out for dinner and a movie! Date night! Yay!!

 

Enjoy your Saturday night! 

Southwestern Chicken & Rice Skillet

Last night, I successfully pulled off yet another recipe from Iowa Girl Eats: the Southwestern Chicken & Rice Skillet. Yet again, this is a recipe I was alerted to by the fair Tracy. This was an awesome dish because everything took place in the same pan. My dear cast iron skillet! I'm so excited about using this all of the time, it isn't even funny.

Tracy recommended using an entire packet of taco seasoning, so I did. She also suggested I use more salsa and of a hotter variety. I didn't use more, but I did do half medium and half hot. The final product was nicely spicy. Boyfriend and I were both happy with it, and he likes his food a LOT spicier than I usually do. 

We determined that this would be awesome as a burrito filling. In fact, Boyfriend got out some taco shells and that was an excellent choice. I'm excited to eat the leftovers this weekend!

*Crash*

I was exceptionally clumsy yesterday. I can't even remember all of the silly things that I did,  but I will surely try:

-I crashed into the fire extinguisher case at work. (It is in this weird bubble case thing that sticks out from the wall.)
-I bumped sideways into someone's cube wall.
-I stood up from a chair and smashed my ankle into the chair leg.
-I scraped my finger on a shelf in my refrigerator.
-I poured boiling water on my foot.
-I picked up a bottle of ibuprofen only to discover that the lid wasn't on as it went flying through the air, littering the bathroom floor with orange pain relievers. 

What a day! I was afraid to get too near Boyfriend because I didn't want him to become an unwilling participant in my clumsy escapades. Oh dear. I tend to be somewhat clumsy on a regular basis because I am usually moving too quickly, but this seemed like more than usual. 

Here's hoping today is less eventful.

Spring!!

Happy First Day of Spring!!!!

I'm looking forward to nicer weather, planting in my garden, and just generally being outside more. What are you most excited about?

 

Receiving Blankets

I am presently obsessed with finding cute baby things to sew. This is not because I am expecting a baby. No, no, nooooo. This is because the Duck is going to be a big sister! Yes, indeed. Boyfriend's sister and her husband are expecting their second child, a baby boy (!!!!!!), in May! I'm super excited. 

My first baby-related sewing project was... *cue drumroll* reversible flannel receiving blankets!!! YAY! I can't even express to you how simple this project was. It all came together really well and I was very happy with the results. The tutorial was easy to understand, which is my favorite kind.

Here is the first blanket. I'm excited about the animal print, especially the elephant carrying the umbrella. Can you see it? 

And here is the decorative stitch that Boyfriend helped me choose for the final stitching on the outside of the blanket. I like it. It looks very professional, in my opinion. Hahaha.

 

Here is the second blanket! I think I might like this one even more than the other. Probably because I love the light olive-y green and the part (you can't see it in the picture) that says "little buddy." I didn't even think to take pictures of this one when I finished it. Oops. I snapped this one this afternoon when we went to Jamie and Jason's to celebrate Jason's birthday.

Here are the happy parents holding up their new blankets! I'm super excited to meet the baby and see him all swaddled up in these. Heehee! YAY BABIES!!

I plan to make several more of these. Boyfriend's mom asked if I could make one for her to keep at her house, and I feel like I should make one for Jason's mom as well. Plus, it seems like 800 people I know are expecting babies, so these could be great gifts. The next baby related project I have planned is probably going to be burp cloths. It just makes sense: I have a bunch of cute flannel to use!

Spicy Sausage Pasta

You guys. YOU GUYS.

Tonight, I made a delicious meal. Tracy sent me the link not long ago and, after her rave reviews, it became very clear that I needed to give it a shot myself. Spicy Sausage Pasta, recipe courtesy of Kevin & Amanda. It was amazing.

I didn't even take a picture of the meal! What is wrong with me? I was just so excited to be making this in my new cast iron skillet. Haha. What a nerd.

Signs of Spring

Well, as I expected, I got sick. Just a cold, thankfully. I stayed home from work on Friday because I felt pretty miserable and, by Saturday, things were better. And what a nice weekend it was! 

Friday evening, Boyfriend and I went to a fish fry at one of the Catholic churches in our neighborhood. We got our food to go and enjoyed it at home. We bought some fifty/fifty tickets while we were there and I was really hopeful that the old man running the drawing would call me and say that I won but, alas, he did not. Oh well. We had a good conversation about the neighborhood and it turns out that his wife was born in a house on our street, only a couple of blocks from where we live. Pretty exciting!

On Saturday, we got up early and went out driving. We stopped for breakfast at a diner we like. It's called Johnny's Diner now, but the first time we went there it was called Pip's. I like the old name better. I can't lie. It reminds me of Great Expectations. Haha. 

After breakfast, we headed downtown to attend the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show. Our friend Margaret had tickets she wasn't going to use, so she passed them on to us. It was an interesting time. I don't typically like it when salespeople accost me to discuss their wares, so I did my best to avoid them. Haha. There was an exhibition about the Civil War, which was pretty great. We talked to some cool people and, on our way out, met a really awesome World War II veteran. His name was Howard and he served in the Merchant Marines. He told us about about some of his adventures before he was called away to talk with other guests. It was really lovely to talk to him.

In the evening, we went to Vincent's Pizza in Plum for dinner with our friend Paul. We usually visit the location in Forest Hills, but it has been closed since last year. The word on the street is that it should open again in a couple of months. ACK. I am so excited. Their pizza is amazing.

On Sunday, we went for another drive in the morning and ran some errands. For the rest of the day, we did stuff around the house. It was nice and relaxing. And it was so nice outside! I actually went on a walk both on Saturday and Sunday. A total distance of over three miles. Woo! I even saw some crocuses in bloom!!! HUZZAH!!!!

I'm so looking forward to spring. We have snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Yay... I'll be so glad when snow is off the table. Haha.

How was your weekend?

Cheesy Taco Soup

You know that feeling you get just before you get sick? That weird, scratchy throat, sort of sleepy feeling? That's what I am feeling right now. That's how I've been feeling for two days now. Ugh. It totally sucks. I do not want to be sick this weekend. It's supposed to be nice out! The temperature is supposed to be in the 50s!!! Grr.

I made some awesome soup for dinner tonight. Cheesy Taco Soup, courtesy of Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats. Can I just say... YUM. This soup was really very easy and made a quick post-work meal. I liked that. I'm excited to eat the leftovers! Haha. That's kind of the ultimate test for me. Do I want to eat this eight more times? Yes? Okay! We have a winner!!

 

I am excited to try some of Kristin's other recipes. Woohoo! You need to check out her site.

In unrelated news: I finished that Louisa May Alcott biography the other night. So good!! You really need to read it. I am now bent on going to Massachusetts. Especially Concord. Oh yes, oh yes.

Are Limes The Fashion Now?

Well, what a week. 

On Thursday, I had a meeting for work and it was pretty depressing. Blah. Thankfully, I had plans to hang out with my friend Faith in the evening, so I had something to look forward to. I went over to her apartment after work and we ordered pizza and breadsticks and put Little Women in the DVD player. What a great movie. What a wonderful book. Don't you love it? Faith and I had a good time together (though, to be honest, we talked over most of the movie). Haha.

I am actually reading a pretty great book right now about the author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, and her mother, Abigail. I am very intrigued. It focuses on the relationship between Louisa and her mother. The author, who is related to Abigail's family, provides some really interesting insight into life in the Alcott household. Everything I've ever read about Louisa's family life mentioned that her father, Bronson Alcott, was one of her biggest influences. I don't think that is necessarily true. I'm not finished with the book yet so all of this probably doesn't make any sense, I know. What I'm trying to say is: this book is good and I like it.

Okay... this post hasn't been the best. Thanks for reading it, though. I like knowing that there is someone out there that sees my writing in my small corner of the great, wide internet.