One of the things you give up when you have a baby...

There are a lot of things that you know you will give up when you have a baby: sleep, going out, sleep, seeing the latest movies, sleep, getting together with friends with a moment's notice...did I mention sleep?  Anyway besides the usual things, there are some things that hit you like a wall.  "Well if I'd only known..." you tell yourself.  I had one of these moments the other day. 

I was driving home my old route from work because Al had picked Katelyn up from daycare.  Usually I pick her up.  There was a very large "going out of business sale" sign at one of my favorite stores.  It sold very cute purses and jewelry.  I had missed the sale and closing...ugh!

Katelyn, you owe Mommy a clearance purse and necklace.  Love, Mom.

Rockin' the Clearance Rack

Last winter I found these great Jessica Simpson shoes on clearance at DSW for $17.  My feet soon became too chubby to wear them, but I knew (hoped) that I would be able to wear them soon.

 

 

While day after Thanksgiving shopping, I found the skirt for $10 at Kohl's.  I paired both with a blouse from Ann Taylor LOFT and a cardigan from New York and Company...

Finally Finished the Nursery!!!

We had several set backs while getting Katelyn's nursery ready.  The main one was that while refinishing the dresser, we had problems with the polyurethane and ended up having to strip the entire dresser to start all over again.  I was hoping to have the nursery finished by K's 16th birthday...so really, I'm ahead of schedule.

Here is the closest thing I have to a "before" photo.  This is after I had painted the ceiling, but hadn't painted the walls yet.  The table with all of the painting supplies is the bottom portion of the dresser before it was refinished...twice.  Also, a bonus picture of a pregnant me in painting gear.

Here are the "after" photos...

The twice refinished dresser.

Oh, are you taking pictures??

The branch is a stencil done in the beige from the other walls.  The letters are wood letters from Michael's Craft Store spray painted light pink.  The mobile I got from a garage sale for $5...woot woot!

Al found this rocking chair in 2004 on the curb next to the trash in Washington, DC.  He rescued it and spent countless hours stripping (not the fun kind), sanding, staining, and applying a hand rubbed poly.

Thanks for visiting my room!

Tree Genius!

Al brought home a ginormous Christmas tree today...and that act simultaneously started and finished his Christmas decorating for this year.  The hardest part of decorating the tree is always the lights.  And the hardest part about doing the lights is getting the roll of lights around the back of the tree with no one on the other side to grab them for you.  Check out my tree genius...

That is my Dyson as a tree light holder-assistant-thing...ok, the name needs work, but this is my tree genius idea that will make me millions!

Pesto!

My garden wasn't a huge success this year (could have had something to do with the fact that my rotund self wasn't too motivated to weed or water it), but my basil did really well.  It turned into small bushes!  So I harvested it (and by harvest I mean cut down with scissors) and decided to make me some pesto.

This is the recipe that I used.  I did extensive research to find it (aka it is the first Google result when searching for "pesto recipe").

I made 4 batches that filled 2 jars.  I ran out of cheese and ended up giving the rest of the basil away.

Step 1: Obtain a crap ton (technical cooking terminology) of basil and pick the leaves.

Step 2: Rinse the leaves.

Step 3: Put pine nuts and basil in a food processor.  Pulse until smooth.

Don't forget your economics textbook...this is crucial to making pesto.

Step 4: Add garlic (the recipe said to mince it first, but I am lazy and didn't...and it was fine).  Pulse until minced.

Step 5: Add the olive oil slowly (there should be a hole in the top of your food processor for this).

Step 6: Add the cheese, salt, and pepper.  Pulse to combine.

Now you have pesto!  Use it as a sauce on pasta or a baked potato, or use it instead of mayo on a sandwich.

"Fat" Pants

I'm in that perfect spot where maternity pants don't fit nor do my pre-pregnancy pants.  Luckily you can still try on clothes while wearing a baby, so off to Kohl's we went.  I found a pair of jeans on sale, and with my coupon, they were $20.  Here is my post-baby self...

Only 10 more pounds to go!!

I was also able to buy five t-shirts and a sweater at Old Navy for $29.  I think it will be a while before "the girls" will fit into pre-pregnancy tops.  The photo above shows me in a pre-pregnancy top...it is a little snug.

Family Letters

The walls of our living room are fairly bare.  This is stemming from both a lack of ideas and a lack of budget.  Months ago I saw an idea online.  There were framed, old letters for sale for big money.  I remembered that my mom's side had some old family letters.  Somehow with email and cellphones, we have lost the art of letter writing.  I got a hold of the letters and a 25% off coupon for Michael's craft store.  I bought three frames with mats for under $25.  One of the letters was three pages long front and back with a photo.  I put the first and last pages in two of the frames, and put the photo with the envelope in the third (even the envelope was pretty).  I hung the three frames above our recently acquired piano (thanks Mom!!).  Here is the finished result...

One wall down!  I have an old newspaper to frame as well, but it isn't a standard size...so that is up to Al to build a frame for.  I'll let you know how it turns out.