Free Time...

Due to the fact that we have no daycare on Thursday and Friday this week, but Joe and I both have to work, my mom just came and picked up Kara to spend the night so she can watch her tomorrow.  Then tomorrow night my mom will be dropping Kara off with Grandma Becky so she can watch Kara on Friday.... sooooo... what do two lonely parents do when their toddler is gone for a few days??  How about absolutely nothing.

I was 100% planning on going to the gym tonight, but I ate a big dinner and drank a delicious beer and now I really have lost all motivation.  Since I am not going to the gym, I should really consider sewing since I have 2 projects that NEED to be completed this weekend... but no, I will do nothing.  Sit on my butt and drink some beer or wine and do nothing... and it will be wonderful!  :)

Out with the old... In with the new.

Before:  Ugly old almond colored stove and fridge:

After: Beautiful new black fridge and stove... Love them! 

And a close up of my beautiful stove just cause I love it so much! 

Now if I could just do something about the cabinets and countertops... 

Random Thoughts

Only 26 days left until I run my first 5k!  Over the weekend I did 3 miles in 40 minutes at the gym, which equals 13.3 mins/mile.  But, if you take my warm up time and mileage out of there we are at 2.75 miles in 35 minutes which equals 12.7 mins/mile... not too shabby for a girl who doesn't run!  Recently I have been wanting some new running shoes... my current shoes are Kohl's $19.99 athletic shoe special... I figured it was time to upgrade.  I found these beautiful New Balance shoes from 6pm.com...

the list price is $125, I got them for $50!  Score!  I think they are last years model and that is why they are so cheap... but I have no problem paying $50 for some $125 shoes. And I am completely convinced that these shoes are going to make me a faster runner! :)

New Appliances... So we ordered new appliances on March 6th and they are FINALLY going to be delivered today! I can't wait to get rid of the nasty almond colored fridge and stove we have. By the end of the day we will have a beautiful brand new black frigde and stove!!  I will post some pics after these bad boys are installed in my kitchen... but here are the stock photos of what we are getting. 

Kara, Kara, Kara... Kara loves to count!  Currently this is how she counts...one - two - three - four - six - eight - ten - leven - twelve - thirteen.  I haven't told her yet that she is skipping five - seven and nine, apparently those numbers don't matter to her!  I love when she starts counting, it's just too cute! 

We are all excited about the awesome March weather we have been having!  They are saying 70-80 degrees tomorrow!! WOOHOO!!  And this has been a snow-free March, how great is that??  All I have to say is this weather better hold up until my birthday.... or else!  We have taken quite a few walks and trips to the park so far!  Can't wait to spend even more time outside with the little monster.  We are also getting really excited about Easter this year!  I think Kara will have a blast searching for her Easter eggs and devouring all of the treats inside!

I am in love...

....in love with sewing that is!  So much in love that I have decided that I am going to open my own etsy shop for my sewing crafts!!  I know it will probably be awhile before I actually get my shop opened, but I am just way excited! I claimed the name SewCraftyKristin on gmail, sewcraftykristin@gmail.com, on etsy,  and have started a blog... well, I have barely started the blog, but I am working on it! .

Keep an eye on my new blog for updates as far as my shop progress goes, what I am working on, and my current favorite fabrics!

P.S.... this is the start to why I think my 27th year of life is going to be so fabulous!  I have great expectations for 27... don't let me down number 27!

Crafts: Purse with pockets

This is my second handmade purse ever.  I found a tutorial on how to make purses, and then just kinda went from there.  I made my own pattern, because the pattern I had found was for a smaller purse, didn't have pockets and didn't have this type of handle.  And let me just say that I suck at reading directions, let alone writing them... good luck!!  :) 

Materials:

4 - cuts of fabric 19 x 12, 2 are the outer pieces and 2 are the inner.

2 - cuts of fabric 12 x 6, 1 for the outer piece of the first pocket and 1 for the inner piece of the first pocket

 2 - cuts of fabric 9 x 6, 1 is the outer piece of the second pocket, 1 is the inner piece of the second pocket

2 cuts of fabric 3 x 21 - these are the handles

4 - pieces of fusible interface cut slightly smaller than the pieces for the body of your bag

2 - pieces of fusible fleece interface cut slightly smaller than one of each pocket (I only used the fusible fleece on one side of the pocket)

2 - pieces of fusible fleece interface cut about 1x20 for the handles

1 - magnetic snap closure

Once all of your pieces are cut, attach the fusible fleece interface to the back side of all of the pieces

Below are all of my cut pieces:

I sewed the handles first.  Fold them in half, pin and sew along edge.

Next, turn the handles right side out.  This is the part that always takes me the longest - anyone have any tricks on how to speed up the process?

Below is one of the pockets.  I attached the interface to the back of the outer piece of the pocket.  Pin the 2 pieces for the pocket right sides together and sew along the edge, make sure to leave room to turn the pocket right side out.  Trim off any excess fabric to make the seams less bulky and turn the pocket so the right sides are out.  Repeat for next pocket.

Pin the pockets to the inside piece of the bag.  Carefully sew along the outside edge to attach pocket to bag. 

Below is a picture of both of my attached pockets. 

Next, decide the placement for your handles.  Make sure they are centered and pin them on to the right side of the outer piece of the bag, as shown below.  Repeat for both sides of the bag. 

Once the handles are in pinned into place on the outer pieces, lay the inner piece right side down on top of the outer piece.  Sew along top edge.  Be sure to sew this seam several times as the handles will need to support the weight of the bag.  Trim off any excess fabric. Repeat for both sides of the bag. 

Once the handles are in place, decide the placement of the magnetic snap closure.  I centered mine between the handles and put it one inch down for the top of the bag. 

My closures included a template to mark where the prongs would go through the bag.  Mark the placement of the snap closures, and carefully cut where you marked. 

After you make your cuts, place the front side of the snap closure onto your bag, and flip the bag over. 

The two prongs should be coming through the backside of the fabric.  Place the metal template ring over them, and fold the prongs inward.  Repeat for other side of snap.

This is what we have so far!  Now it's time to put it all together!!  Lay one side of your bag face up, you will lay the other side of your bag face down on top of this side.. see next picture below....

Make sure that the pieces match up - so the outer bag piece is on top of the other outer bag piece... does this make sense?

Pin around edge and sew all around.  Make sure to leave plenty of room to flip the bag right side out.  I left the opening to flip on the pieces that were going to be the inside of my bag.

Before flipping the bag right sides out, I cut 2 1/4 inch squares out of each corner of the purse.  This allows for a squared off bottom. 

After you cut out the squares, line the cut edges up so the bag will be squared off.  Sew these seams really well.  After this step is done you can flip the bag inside out!!  Sew the seam that was left open for flipping purposes.

Tada!  Look what we have here!  We made a purse! 

Here is a shot of the pockets:  notice the diaper in the big pocket?  I purposely make it large enough to fit a couple of diapers and a small wipe case!  

Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This is an absolutely delicious, and super simple recipe that my sister found somewhere out in the blog world. I don't remember the blog address, so I can't post a link, but if you happen to know it, let me know!

Ingredients:
1 - box of spice cake mix
1 - 15 ounce can of pumpkin pie filling
1/2 - bag of chocolate chips


Step one: Empty cake mix into bowl


Step two: Add can of pumpkin pie filling into bowl with cake mix and mix together well.



Step three: Add half bag of chocolate chips into bowl and mix well.


Step four: Spray all cups of a mini muffin pan to prevent muffins from sticking. Use a scoop to fill your muffin pan. Note: the shape of the muffins don't change much during baking. If you want pretty muffins, make sure you scoop them neatly into the pan. This can make up to 36 mini muffins. I don't like to have to bake more than one pan, so I tend to make 24 larger muffins.



Step five: Bake muffins at 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes. You will know they are done when you can insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin and it comes out clean.


Step six: Enjoy!!


Step seven: Repeat! If your family is at all like mine these will be gone before you know it! I like to store them in the fridge and eat them cold.. Yummy!

Random updates.

I would like to apologize in advance for my post of random thoughts.

• So the little diva of the family, Jayla turned one on March 2nd. Yep, seriously, Jayla is one!! Where did the year go? Seems like just yesterday that I was in Michelle's hospital room eating McDonalds at 5 in the morning, being yelled at by the nurse for making Michelle have high blood pressure, and patiently waiting for Jayla's arrival. Jayla has definitely earned her nicknames 'diva' and 'princess'. She is such a little sweetheart, but also very high maintenance!! But we love her for it! Happy first birthday Jayla!!

• On March 5th Joe and I had another date night. We went out to Great Waters Brewing Co in St. Paul for dinner and then went to see The Avett Brothers @ First Ave. It was an AWESOME night!! Dinner was good, and the concert was AMAZING!!!! You can check out a live performance of them here. Have I ever mentioned that I love live music? Actually, I just love music in general.

• While are on the topic of music... lets talk about the Mumford & Sons, who are my new favorite band. If you search for them on wikipedia this is the first sentence... Mumford & Sons are an English Indie folk band from London Let me put that into Kristin terms for you Mumford & Sons are a love love love band from love... yeah, pretty much love everything about them... They will be coming to the Twin Cities on May 25th, and guess who got tickets to their show that sold out in less than 2 hours... me! It may have caused some serious frustration trying to get the tickets, but once I had them in my hands I couldn't have been happier!

• Kara spent a whole weekend at grandma and grandpa's house, which gave Joe and I some time to get some things done around the house, such as this awesome re-designed wall of family pictures. Isn't it great??

• Couch to 5k - ugh. I am so not a runner. Last night I jogged/walked 3.25 miles on the treadmill in 45 minutes. So I will keep working on that...

• Only 10 more days until New Moon comes out on dvd!! Yeah, I know, I am a loser :)