I'm a Garbage Picker.

Last night, I was driving home from time with friends when to my excitement I drove past someone's trash pile. I saw a little gem there that quickly made it's way in to the passenger seat. It took me a total of about 10 minutes this morning to fix this little thing up to make it one of The Bug's entourage for imaginary play.

BEFORE

It was just a little beat up.

And in need of a little camo effect for these holes.

And of course needed a good wipe down cause who knows

what kind of nastiness could have been crawling around here.

AFTER:

I used my exacto knife, a little scrapbook paper that I hadn't yet

found a use for, and some modge podge and

Vwa-la!

The funnest part is that it matches her $30 wooden kitchen that she got last year.

Coordination is always important, even if it's play toys. :)

I have so much fun with this stuff that my fear is one day, I will be one of those folks that you see driving around the night before the garbage man comes. You know, the ones with with garbage piled up strategically in a tower so that they can fit an obscene amount of things in to the truck bed?

There is something metaphorical about this I think. Taking something ugly or dirty or broken and making it beautiful. Kind of reminds me of what Jesus is doing with me. And I like being reminded of that.

Embrace the Cam.

Oh geez. It's Thursday again. That means Embrace the Camera peeps. You know, where you make it a point to post a picture of yourself with your kids, or your furry babies, your mom, your boss, etc. so that your photo albums and scrapbooks include a shot of you every so often?

{click below if you wanna join the club!}

Whoopsy. I ain't got no ETC game as of late. Not to panic though...I was feeling a tad nostalgic and dug back in my files to find this:

and this.

I don't know if I will ever have another baby. But good Lord in heaven do I love the one I have. These pictures were taken back in September 2008 (shout out to Ollie Wren photo and Emily for sharing her early a-Mazing talent with us). Back then, I had no idea that my daughter would enjoy imaginary cooking as much as I enjoy the real thing. Or that she would wear heels while doing so.

I could, however, have guessed if my DNA were at all involved that karaoke would likely be in her future. No lie people~this little munchkin fashioned this "microphone" up out of her wooden food items. I walked in the room to find her humming along to her toddler tunes while making a pizza. Just pretend that it doesn't look like a wenis. It's much cuter that way.

I had some clue that if I were to have a daughter that she would likely have crazy hair. But who knew it would be this cute.

My little who.

Oh the cuteness.

Your Very Own Blog. In a Book.

So, my "friend" Jami is doing a giveaway on her blog...it's here. Jami and I go way back to never. Yeah, other than following her blog about life as a wife and mom who does great crafts and takes fun pictures, I don't know jack about Jami. Except for that she makes me almost pee in my pants often, she's the bff of another super cool gal that I know, and that she is a brave soul.

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon her blog and began reading about the affair that her husband had. What? Who shares something like that? With the world wide web? I love it. It puts a dent in the facade that most of us often try to keep up that we are doing okay and that life turned out just like we had hoped. Truth is, that's not true. So, thanks Jami for your courage to share the messiness of your life. And the hope of how it can turn around. Major props to you, my friend. (that I don't really know).

And now for the giveaway...she is doing a $40 voucher for a book made from your blog. OMG. I so need one of these. About 6 months ago I was trying to change my template and my blog totally disappeared. I couldn't function at the thought of losing everything that I had recorded on here....especially the milestones for my sweet girl that I hadn't written anywhere else! Aahh!

Thank goodness, that was all resolved within 24 hours. But, I still didn't print out a book. And I still really need to. Now. And if lady luck is in my corner, maybe it will be for free!

So, I shared one of my favorite blogs to keep up with. Now, it's your turn. What is your favorite blog or two that inspire you? Beuller?

Cewing Circle~January Edition.

Howdy to the people interested in meeting up with us to get our sew on! I have been a serious slacker in getting this post up, but not to fear...this month, we will be meeting on the 2nd Tuesday (instead of the 1st) for Cewing Circle. Hopefully this will give us all time to recover from our Christmas hangovers. This of course is figurative not literal. For some of us, at least.

What, you might ask, will we be doing at the Circle in the next few months? Good question! Does anyone have any suggestions? I made some super cute kitchen towels over the holidays to give as gifts. I was inspired by an old towel that Mary showed us and she happened to have the pattern for them. I am on a serious mission to bring this fad back of buttoning our towels to our stoves and refrigerators. I don't why it's a mission. Or why I am so serious about it. I just think they are fun. And I need more fun in my life, okay?

I like to call them Dishy Towels. :)

You may recognize the fabric...it's leftover from the pillow I

made last month.

Which is finally complete!

This project (the dishy towel) teaches you a few different skills that are valuable. So, let's do it! You will need to bring:

1.) just a small amount of scrap fabric (at least 12 inches x 12 inches).

2.) matching thread (or purposely not matching, which is what I did)

3.) a button

4.) a dish towel of some sort. (I got 2 packs of microfiber ones (one at Ross and one at Old Time Pottery for a total of $6. This made at least 10 towels. )

How does that sound for a plan? So, gather up your goodies and head on over to Hannah's place at 7:30pm on Jan. 11th. It's located right by Lake Eola at 335 Cathcart Ave. Orlando. Later gators!

Embrace the Camera & A Picture Globey Thing

As I finish up my Christmas gift making...I've never been one for deadlines....I came across this fun idea on photojojo. You can go here to learn more about the idea, the necessary supplies and download the template or just read on while I do a picture page of my craft time for today. I changed a few things up....Did I mention that crafts are really therapeutic? And while they can become expensive, crafting supplies are way cheaper than $110 per session to see a therapist. And, so I craft on.

The template gives you 2 sizes to choose from. I chose the smaller one...

I cut out the circles that I traced from some scrapbooking paper that I already had.

I then channeled my inner ninja to fold this triangle. The directions

say use a "scoring tool." I used my pampered chef scraper instead.

Scored that baby up. Thank you, inner ninja.

In the background you will see my little circle punch.

Really Martha? $17.99? I mean it's sturdy, but really?

You are so lucky I had a coupon girl. After I got over the price of the

hole punch (not really), I taped the pictures on the back of the oragami

and trimmed as needed so as to not interrupt the flow of

the globe.

I paired up the 10 little whichamathingers to make sure that

they at least coordinated.

And then punched out the rest of my $18 holes. Oh, btw, I

got the photos printed out at Walgreen's by using the 4 x 6 collage tool.

They were only 39 cents a piece. Shh. Don't tell Walgreen's I told you cause

I think this is an oversight. They are usually much pricier than that.

Back to the story, line up the pieces with one triangle facing up, then down,

and so forth. Glue 10 of them together as pictured below and then

join the little chain. I used tacky glue rather than hot glue. Because tacky

is just how I roll. I have Ugly Christmas sweater party pictures to prove it. :)

Yes, those are lights in my head. My daughter thought it was awesome.

Oh yeah, I was doing a craft.

It will look like the middle below. Then join the 5 together twice...

make sure the photos are

facing the way you want them too...take a minute to enjoy the cute

little flowery nuggets that you have made...I did.

I used some hemp that I had laying around for the little

hanging part. This is the only kind of hemp product that

I have in the house. Honest. Drugs are never as good of therapy

as they seem. Although if I wanted some to smoke, I

am pretty sure that my neighbors would share. I braided it as shown.

Used my trusty $18 hole punch to secure it....it is a good paper weight.

Props on that one, Martha.

I knotted both ends of the hemp and stuck it up through the little

hole in the top part. I put some glue on it to secure it a little more.

And wallah, a little picture globey thing, for your viewing pleasure.

And for your funny bone, the rest of my outfit.

This was the best I could do considering that the

rest of America is now apparently searching for ugly sweaters

and Good Will was officially out of stock.

Thanks photojojo for the inspiration for my therapy today. :) Robyn,

your gifts will be on their way soon! Good night all!

Behold: The Sweet Potato Casserole.

I did not grow up in the south. There is, however, a thick streak of southern girl inside of me. Maybe it's because the Mason-Dixon line isn't to terribly far away from my home town. Maybe it's because my name is Melonie and the famed character from Gone With The Wind and I have more than just a name in common. Or maybe, it's because of my obsession with food. Who could do without fried okra? Pulled pork? Bread pudding? All of the above were things that I was never exposed to as a kid, but am eternally grateful for their addition to my food intake repertoire. And who could talk about the goodness of southern food without including the blessed sweet potato casserole? It masquerades as a vegetable, but let's be honest people. This is a dessert.

What makes me chuckle about this recipe is that I got it from a dear friend who just happens to be Indian. Like, not a Native American, but from India Indian. It couldn't be any more American of a dish. But, it adds to it's character. :) And thank goodness, there is no curry involved....

Sweet Potato Casserole

Bottom layer:

3 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup softened butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

Topping:

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup SELF-RISING flour

1 cup brown sugar

1.) Cut the ends off of both side of sweet taters. Bake them at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until a fork goes through them easily when pierced.

2.) Empty out tater guts into mixing bowl and all of the bottom layer ingredients. Mix them until blended well but still somewhat lumpy.

3.) In another bowl mix all of the topping ingredients. Please use self-rising flour, otherwise it will look like something threw up on your casserole. Promise. Been there, done that.

4.) Bake is greased pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and bam! One of the best tastes to ever grace your palate. Bon appetit!

*I usually make a ton of this dish...I triple the bottom layer and double the top. It makes a very full 9 x 12(ish) baking pan's worth. And then people will love you because they will get to take some for leftovers. It's always good to feel the love. :)

Merry Merry Christmas to you! In the form of Gingerbread Waffles.

It's Christmas morn at my house. I have donned my new zebra print snuggie and am super cozy. Not a creature is stirring and it's 8:31am! So, in order to contain my excitement of seeing The Bug experience this oh so special of days and in celebration of all things Christmas, I wanted to share a new fun recipe that I got out of a Family Circle magazine. Shout out to the ladies at the Dr. Tucker's office for copying it for me! :)

Gingerbread Muffles (as a certain little 2 year old calls them.)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

3 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

3 eggs

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalter butter, melted

1/2 cup molasses

1.) In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

2.) Beat eggs and sugar together until combined. Pour buttermilk and butter in to egg mixture; beat until well-blended.

3.) Heat waffle iron according to directions. Make a well in flour mixture and stir in egg mixture and molasses until well blended.

4.) Pour about 1/2 cup waffle batter in to each waffle mold, then close lid and cook for 2 minutes. Remove carefully and place on baking sheet in warm oven. Serve with maple syrup and fruit. I used strawberries. Yummy!

Merry Christmas to my tummy:

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS. THANKS FOR COMING TO SAVE US ALL. AMEN.

~Embrace the Cam~ 12.23

It's not every week that I get to share official portraits for Embrace the Camera! A few months ago, I stumbled across a {new} photographer who was {new} in the area who happened to know a friend of mine from Charlotte. (Thank you facebook ads...) Anywho, Katy and I have been chatting it up and we thought, how fun! We can take shots of each other for our websites! Yippee! And of course, The Bug was tagging along. She had her own little photo shoot too, so that we could deck our Christmas cards with her cute mug... (I'm saving those as a surprise!) Katy was sweet enough to get some great ones of my sweet little girl and I together. Merry Christmass Eve Eve everyone! :

She loves to jump on my stomach like this. I wish I loved how it felt.

Muah!!!!!!

Embrace the Camera-Dec. 16th

Gonna keep it short and sweet today. Here are The Bug and I reading a story before bedtime. For all of you paci haters out there, I know. I know. She's getting a little to old for it. But she only has it during sleepy time and I just don't have the heart yet. Anywho, here we sit in her room. With her super cute tree as the star of the show. Except for that you can't really see the star. But there I go getting wordy on what I promised to be short...

Except to say that I did finally take the kiddo for a haircut. Occasionally, I may be known to make a slightly bigger deal out of something than it really might end up being. Maybe. And I am thinking that maybe this was one of those super rare occasions.

BEFORE

DURING (she sat there like a champ)

AFTER

Doesn't really look much different. Just a little less scraggly. But she's so cute to me that she makes "little less scraggly" look good. And there will still be plenty of pigtails and clips to go around. Peace out and sweet dreams friends! :)

~Embrace the Camera~Tis the Season...

It's been a week full of Christmas preparations. Here we are picking out our tree. There's something very nostalgic about going to a tree farm and cutting down your own tree. In my mind, I will pretend that is what happened. Instead, we drove a few miles down the road and stopped at my 2nd favorite place for produce and loaded up a tree along with some tasty tomatoes. It's okay really, because it still smells like a Christmas tree and that's what is most important. :)

Somebody to had to take a break from decorating to change her baby's dipe.

But she loved to hang the ornaments.

She thought that the shiny bulbs were the cat's meow.

Here is the finished product:

I also made my most favorite cookies for an exchange that we did earlier this week. Here is the recipe for those of you who asked:

Chewy Molasses Cookie

To preserve the appearance of the sugary tops, layer cookies between parchment or wax paper when packing them for school lunches or as gifts. Freezing the dough for twenty minutes makes it easier to work with. Cookies can be baked up to two days ahead; store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Prep: 30 minutes
Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients

Makes 12 very large cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for coating
• 6 tablespoons molasses
• 1 large egg

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, allspice, and pepper.
• With an electric mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg. With mixer on low, gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and freeze for 20 minutes.
• Divide dough into twelve 2-inch balls. Place remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a bowl. Roll balls in sugar to coat; place at least 4 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten into 3-inch rounds. Sprinkle with sugar remaining in bowl.

Bake until brown, rotating sheets from bottom shelf to top halfway through, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Yummy!

One other thing. The pepper ingredient is not a typo. However, I recommend using just a tad less than instructed. I tasted pepper in them a bit this year and didn't want to. But don't delete it. It's supposed to be a key ingredient! :)

Haircut.

I mentioned before that I am mentally preparing myself for Selah's (first) haircut. Let me shed some light on why this is such a traumatic occurrence and why my daughter is 27 months old and has yet to have even a shred of hair removed from her head:

I did not have hair really until at least 2 years old. And then when I did it was U-G-L-Y. Promise. It had no alibi. In order to try to tame my hair and hope that it would be better, my mom decided that it would be wise when I was 5 to chop it all off. All of it. This is the result:

Oh look, it's me when I was a little boy.

"Cool shoes Mom. How could you do this to me?"

My kindergarten class picture. Business in the front. Party in the back.

So, the fact that I can create some sort of cuteness out of The Bug's hair now with pigtails and barettes, etc. makes it so that THE LAST thing that I want to do is risk that someone would jack it all up. Because, then, she would look like I did. And that, my friends, is inhumane. Pray for me. She really needs a haircut...

Cewing Circle Pillow Fun.

Our first official project was the agenda for this past Tuesday's get-together. With decaf mochas to warm us up, we munched on cookies and Christmasy snacks. Mary was a fabulous guide. All of the ladies were able to complete their pillows. (Except for maybe one person who maybe may have set her sights a little too high...and maybe that was me.) And even though my sewing machine BROKE in the middle of it all, it was a super fun time.

The "Students"

Our fearless leader

Theresa considers options for the remnants while channeling Axel Rose.

Hannah pins!

And the group again with the teach.