New Sewing Studio

I found the exact desk I had been wanting from IKEA on Craigslist.  I was so excited, because the desk was only $80 on Craigslist and its $130 at IKEA, and the closest IKEA is 2.5 hours away.  This desk was only 11 miles from my house!

I think it turned out great!  It takes up the whole wall and gives me so much space to work on.

Here's another view of the side of the room.  You can see my fabric covered corkboard, and my 2 little IKEA shelves.  All the Q monograms are because my last name starts with a Q and they are pretty impossible to find.  Whenever I find one, I get it!

There is also a picture of my grandma, she's my sewing mentor.

Turning to the left you have my bookcase and cutting table.  The bookcase is from my childhood bedroom and the cutting table was a freebie from a co-worker!  Win-win!

Look under the desk, see that sweet little bed?  Dutch comes and keeps me company most of the time I'm in here.

The white chair you see at the end of the table was in the clearance section at Walmart last year.  It wasn't marked, but when I took it to the price check station to check the price, it was $3.00!  $3.00!  I had to have it.

 

Here's an up close of my bookcase.  This will hopefully change soon.  I am thinking of following this tutorial and put all my fabric in the bookshelf.  I think it would look so pretty all lined up on the shelf as little mini bolts.

I love having my ribbon in the big glass jars at the top and my buttons and zippers in glass mason jars.  I love to see my notions.

You also see I have a vast collection of books, I love sewing books.

On the top shelf is my W.I.P basket (Work In Progress).  That basket needs to be emptied...

And of course, my Cricut which I love!!!

This picture was taken as I was standing in the doorway.  My desk is to the right.

You can see my giant cutting mat on the table (green of course) and the pegboard Daddy made above it.  On the pegboard I hang all my quilt rulers and scissors.  Very convenient. 

In the corner sits the little $6 chair I recovered. I love the fabric and how well it goes with everything in the room.

I also hung a clock and small white board to keep notes on orders that I have to do and things I need to buy.

I love my Keep Calm print but I am still looking for a better frame...


That's my sewing space!  I hope you love it, I know I do!

I'm linked over at...

Wordless Wed. 18

Tuesday Tip 18

Picture From: www.goodlifeeats.com

This week's Tuesday Tip come from a blog I just love called Good Life Eats.  Everything on there looks amazing and she offers so many helpful hints!

Here's one I stumbled upon the other day and bookmarked it for Tuesday Tip!

How to get Multi-Swirled Frosting on Cupcakes!

Meal Plan Monday 18

Here's this weeks meal plan.

Monday- County Spelling Bee- out to eat with the team
Tuesday-  Skillet Lasagna (we didn't have it last week like planned)
Wednesday- New Recipe- Tuna Cakes
Thursday- BBQ Chicken
Friday- Grilling Out
Saturday- Date Night
Sunday- Shrimp Boil
 
If I pulled the recipe from a website, then it is linked for you to try yourself!  I will also share other favorite recipes throughout the weeks and will link them when used for meal planning.  Bon Appetit!

Car List

I am hopefully in the market for a new car soon... I currently drive a 2000 Nissan Altima, that I was given by my mom and dad is 2003, Thank Mama and Daddy!  Now its 2011, and almost 180,000 miles later I'm ready for a little change.  Mind you that my car has no huge problems, same motor, transmission, etc, etc.  But that is kinda what worries me, I think I was to get out while the gettings good, if ya know what I mean.

So I have been collection information on what kind of car I would like to have.  This is a serious wish list people, I don't think we will get a brand new car, but it is nice to look :)  I know I want something a little bigger, more of a crossover rather than a SUV.  So here's the little list I came up with...

So the first on the list is the Cadillac SRX.

Pic credit: www.cardealersboston.com

 Then we have the Lexus RX350

Pic credit: www.carguides.com

 I have always really liked the Nissan Murano

Pic credit: www.rimsorizer.com

 And the Nissan Rogue

Pic credit: www.vlane.com

 It's more boxy, but I like the Chevy Equinox

Pic credit: wwww.chevy.com

So does anyone out there in blogland have a suggestion/comment?  We've only look at the pictures online, we have not test drove or sat in any of these cars.  I'll keep you updated on what happens :)

Friday Favorite 17

This week's Friday Favorite is the best Jerry, the best! (Little Seinfeld reference for you...)

It's Intersession Break!

I work at a year round elementary school and I love it!  Here's why I love my schedule so much!

1. Every 9 weeks, I get 3 weeks off.  In the summer I still get 5 weeks
2. I can take a vacation in September without missing work or dealing with summer heat & crowds.
3. It gives me time to prepare myself for another quarter of lessons
4. The children retain more information with a smaller summer
5. Intersession breaks are refreshing for everyone, students and staff come back excited

Now, with that being said I will add that I understand why some people do not like year round.  I am in a special situation.  I have no children of my own and our year round school is very unique, we only have 1 track.  We are all out at the same time.  I can totally see why multiple tracks could be a headache.  But from where I am sitting (that's on my couch at 1:26pm on a Friday), year round school rocks ;)

The ABC's of Me...

I saw this post on another blog I like to read, Feel Like Home, and thought I would play along too :)

The ABCs of Me:

1. Age: 28
2. Bed size: Queen
3. Chore you hate: Washing Dishes, oh I should go in the kitchen and kiss the dishwasher
4. Dogs: One sweet, sweet Australian Shepherd named Dutch.
5. Essential start to your day: Facebook and Email
6. Favorite color: Lime Green, and Teal
7. Gold or silver: Silver or white gold ;)
8. Height: 5′ 10ish” it's all legs.
9. Instruments that you can play: Well I can semi-play lots of instruments... piano, electric bass, guitar, violin, spoons, etc, etc.
10. Job title: Teacher, Creative Genius behind CCQuilts and Things.
11. Kids: None
12. Live: Raleigh, NC
13. Mom’s name: Mary
14. Nicknames: Stick
15. Overnight hospital stays: Never!
16. Pet peeve: People being selfish, not being team players
17. Quote from a movie: .”
18. Righty or lefty: Righty
19. Sibling: 1 brother, 1 sister, both older
20. Time you wake up: Too early on work days... 6:30.
21. Underwear: Love panties of all kind, but no grannies!
22. Vegetables you dislike: Dislike?  Hmmmm.... I like most all veggies but no way on cauliflower!
23. What makes you run late: Checking all the doors to make sure they are locked, I am a worrier!
24. X-rays: Just a few...
25. Yummy food you make: I make lots of yummy food, but everyone loves my salsa and my Stromboli.
26. Zoo favorite animal: Penguins!!!

Wordless Wed. 17

Tuesday Tip 17

This week's tip is brought to you by the hubs!

Here's his tip when buying wine...  Take a fine point sharpie and write on each bottle where you bought it, cost and why you bought it.  This has been a great system for us since we are newbies when it comes to wine.

On this bottle you can see the hub's handwriting... It says, Total Wine $15.99 and the little note is that we liked it at a tasting.

That's a tip in itself, if you want to find out what wines you like, go to tastings!  Most wine shops offer free wine tasting on the weekends.  Our local Total Wine offers them on Friday and Saturday.  Its a great way to try something before you buy it.  This wine is kind of a splurge, we have saved it for awhile waiting for a semi-special occasion.

Here's a bottle we go at a small wine shop in town called Cellar 101.  It was $10 and was recommended to us by the clerk.

As you can see, we have a small collection of wine.  This fridge was my hubs anniversary present from me.  He loves it!  Notice all those green stickers?  Those are bottles from Total Wine, 10% off any bottle you taste... Win-Win!

Meal Plan Monday 17

Here's this weeks meal plan.

Monday- Roast
Tuesday-  Italian Chicken
Wednesday- Best Ever Porkchops
Thursday- Brown Sugar Chicken
Friday- Grilling Out
Saturday- Date Night
Sunday- Skillet Lasagna
 
If I pulled the recipe from a website, then it is linked for you to try yourself!  I will also share other favorite recipes throughout the weeks and will link them when used for meal planning.  Bon Appetit!

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to help host Stephanie's bridal shower at my home.  The theme was Breakfast at Tiffany's.  It was amazing!  The bride's good friend Dawn provided all the food and bought tons of decorations, Christina and I decorated and helped greet and serve, and the Bride to Be's talented friend, Lauren of Waterhouse Studios was sweet enough to take these professional photos!

Here's a little slide show of pictures I took... You can see some of my crafty projects that I will feature later in the week!

Happy National Quilting Day!

Happy National Quilting Day!

I wanted to post a few of my favorite quilts from Craftster.org in honor of National Quilting Day.

Cool Mario Quilt

Muppets!

These Color Wheels have been on my "to make" list for a long time...

This quilt made me laugh!

 

Y Front Underwear!!!

Amazing Book Quilt

Friday Favorite 16: Lending a Hand

No post today in honor of....

Please go to For Japan With Love or directly to ShelterBox to donate.

A St. Patricks Day Treat

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I have a little treat to share!

White chocolate dipped rice krispie treats!

Start out with your regular ol' back of the cereal box recipe for Rice Krispie Treats.  Make that recipe but instead of putting the mixture in a baking dish, dump the mixture onto a sheet of wax paper.

Take small pieces of the mixture and roll it into balls about the size of ping pong balls.

Now here comes the best part...

 Dip them in Chocolate!  Just partly, well you can dip the whole thing if you wanna, but I just did a little bit.  If you would like to submerge the whole thing, insert a popsicle stick, and viola, chocolate covered rice krispie treat suckers.

Then, in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, add some green sugar to the white chocolate before it cools!  If I was to make it again, I would use either sprinkles or tint the white chocolate.  I don't think I am a big fan of the colored sugar...













And here they are!  Yum, yum!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

Wordless Wed. 16

Tuesday Tip 16

This week's Tuesday Tip comes to us from Good Life Eats.  You've seen the brownie pan that bakes the brownies in their own little sections making separating a breeze!  Well, I am not a huge fan of having something that only does one task, and I can't figure out another reason to use a pan like that.  I happened to stumble across this great tip for perfectly portioned brownies!

Photo from www.goodlifeeats.com

Meal Plan Monday 16

Here's this weeks meal plan.

Monday- Tilapia Fillets
Tuesday-  Out with work friends
Wednesday- Stuffed Shells
Thursday- St. Patrick's Night Out
Friday- Grilling Out
Saturday- Date Night
Sunday-  BBQ Chicken

If I pulled the recipe from a website, then it is linked for you to try yourself!  I will also share other favorite recipes throughout the weeks and will link them when used for meal planning.  Bon Appetit!

Wanted: Books

My husband is a book lover.  Me, I prefer a great blog or magazine, except when it comes to craft books.  Oh, I love them!  I found a few at the quilt shop yesterday that made my "to buy" list.  There are a lot of serger books on this list, since I am new serger owner :)  Anyone ever used any of these books?

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!

My grandma and I took a field trip to a wonderful quilt shop today.  It was amazing.  We ended up staying in there for almost 2 hours!  We went to check out the Accuquilt.  It was awesome!

Here she is with the machine.  She loved it!  I think I see one in her near future.  She loves to quilt but due to arthritis in her hands, cutting out all the pieces to make a quilt it painful and takes forever.  With this handy dandy machine, you stack the fabric and crank it through the machine and it cuts the pieces perfectly!  It truly is amazing.

You can check Accuquilts Webpage for more details.

Oh, and the fabric!  You wouldn't believe the fabric.  I swooned over bolts and bolts of Alexander Henry, Moda and of course, Amy Butler.

I really liked this Amy Butler book, I think I might have to look for it on Amazon or at Borders (since they are going out of business and everything is 50% off).

Friday Favorite 15

I love Cake Wrecks.  When it pops up on my blog roll I just laugh and laugh.  I especially love the sarcastic snarky commentary by the blog author, Jen.  She has a book out and calendars too.  You get all kinds of great cake disasters all week and then on Sunday, you get to take a peek at amazing cakes.  Win-Win!

How about a few of my favorite wrecks from the site...

And a couple of my favorite Sunday Sweets...