Oh, This Girl!

In between tidying up, writing, and all the other things that beckon my attention, I had the privilege of sitting down for a few minutes to watch my beautiful ballerina in action.

She twirled and giggled and squealed and hopped {and posed} the entire time.

So graceful...

So elegant...

So charming...

And when she moves?
She MOVES!

That's

my

girl!

Oh this girl knows how to put on a show!  For years and years, I dreamed of this; of my sweet little girl doing sweet little girl things, and I'm ashamed to say that many times I let these moments go unnoticed.  I'm too focused on what I think I needs to get done- you know, all that stuff in our lives- and I miss out.  Not today!  Not this moment!

As I watched my Isabelle Kate, and really focused on her, I saw myself as a child so clearly in her- that desire to be delighted in, to be esteemed, cherished.  I watched her study her reflection in the TV screen just as I did at her age, practicing smiles and cow eyes, raising her little arms just so, and I couldn't help but giggle; but I also wondered: does she know how much God loves and adores her, how much her parents and family cherish her?  Doe she really know how beautiful she is, inside and out?

Culinary Success!

I can make a mean cheesecake.  In fact, we voted Mom's superior to the Cheesecake Factory's pie we splurged on last week on vacation.

But I can't make a crust from scratch to save my life!  Which is very odd, considering my mother can turn out perfect pie crusts by the millions without so much as batting an eyelash.

Nor do I ever have much success with making homemade breads, the kinds with yeast and rising and waiting and all that fun stuff.  Quick breads?  Sure, no problem!  But you give me a tiny packet of yeast and I will find a way to destroy it.  Or whatever loaf it was meant to yield.  I follow the directions to the tee, painstakingly setting the dough ball (when it actually even becomes a dough ball for me!) inside the oven with a pan of hot water on the lower rack, and wait, and...it never rises the way it's supposed to!  Sure, I can still make rolls or bread with inferior, unrisen dough, but it definitely lacks that wonderful, melt-in-your-mouth appeal, and is either very chewy or too dense.

Yesterday...drum roll please...I don't know why I was feeling inspired- well, it was miserably cold and wet, so that was probably why- so I searched the cabinets for a lonely little packet of yeast (of course it expired in Nov, which did little to deter me and my dream).  I measured and stirred and heated, and prayed.  Just one, I cried, just one successful attempt at making homemade rolls!

My heart started pounding when I saw that the dough had definitely not risen as much as the picture illustrated in my trusty cookbook, but I pressed on.  Actually, I punched on, ha.  I had tried to time things so that Jonah and Caleb would be arriving home when it was time to shape the dough into Cloverleaf Rolls, which worked beautifully.  They were happy to do something in the kitchen with me, and I had already done the real messy stuff ahead of time.  Win Win!  Plus, how fun is it to sit around waiting for dough that may or may not rise?  I think they appreciated the instant gratification part of rolling and shaping the rolls.  :)

They took their jobs very seriously!

ha, i'm looking at the background- why does inspiration always come on laundry days?

I'd promised Isabelle that she could help too, but it took several minutes to wake her up from her nap!  She's still recovering from last week!

i haven't been sleeping well at night lately- we both look rather drowsy

yummy!

look who's getting her big, bouncy curls back!  :)

Culinary

SUCCESS!!!

Does anyone else have issues with yeast?  I hope it's not just me....

Prettier Pantry Door

I don't know about you, but there's something about this time of year that simply beckons projects.
Maybe it's because we're all cooped up and I can't help but notice seemingly unimportant things that begin to really bug me.
I know we all have those things in our homes that drive us nuts, but I decided to tackle a few prettifying projects to see if that might help ease the loathing a bit.
Well, um, kinda.
Just as long as I don't look at the other stuff.  :)

Let's take my pantry door, for example.  It's a functional pantry, pitifully basic and unimaginative.  But I don't really have the time, budget, or inclination to really change it, so...I decided to gussy it up a bit instead.

I realized I should take a before picture, but I'd already painted it high gloss white ~ years ago I'd painted it the same color as the wall, even the trim!  I've never liked the door, and I was hoping to make it blend in a bit.

Here is the freshly painted white door.
Yawn.

Then I got to thinkin' again.  What about stenciling a word down the door?
I had all but settled on  "PANTRY" in bold, black chunky letters, but looking around the rest of the room, it simply didn't fit.

I grabbed my bin of acrylic paints that I use so often I store them in the frigid basement and then had a coughing fit over the dust that flew in my face when I opened up the cover...I digress...I still couldn't decide on a color, so I was waiting for inspiration to hit me.

I ended up stippling with basic white and adding a glittery gold to the edges.  Oh, and above the door obviously.  So absolutely nothing like what I'd envisioned!
And I love it!
It's understated, but detailed.  Cute but not too cute.

But the door was looking too white and boring.  What to do, what to do.
Isabelle and I had just purchased a stencil at Michael's (with a coupon!) that I had in mind for another project, but the gears started turning again and...

Same colors, same process, shoot- same paper plate!
Ready to be amazed? ? ?

 

It's so difficult to capture the part I love most in a picture!  Because I left lots of areas of the stencils just white, you don't really "see" them on the door, but you can see the difference in texture and sheen.  The golden edges give everything just a hint of sparkle.

I also thought I'd be SO smart by saving money and buying only a non-functional levered handle, and that I could somehow rig it up with the existing knob...who's gonna see the inside of a pantry door, folks?...but no, in fact no such rigging occurred.  I frowned.  And maybe pouted.  I wanted this to be a super cheap-o prettifying project.

But in the end, I caved, and it cost me $21.88.

And I think it's totally worth it!

Nice, huh?

Sah-wooon.

I know, I know, I've been planning on replacing those tired, builder-grade lighting fixtures in the main entry for a few years now...in time.  In time.

I'll just keep looking at my lovely levered door for now.   :)

Happy Weekend Everyone! 

Happily sharing with The Lettered Cottage 
DIY by Design
the Shabby Chic Cottage
At the Picket Fence

Sew adorable

 My Sweet Valentine

Hmm.

I think I'm a fabric dyslexic.
I can envision what things will look like so clearly in my mind, yet I have a really hard time getting the actual item in front of me to resemble said vision.

Sigh.  I suppose that's true of most of my life in general, ha.

I figured out it was best to make the puff part first, and stop worrying about the red underlay for a minute.

Now it's time to attach the underlay/basic skirt.  I made the casing for the waistband and then attached the apron front over that, to make it look like more of a ruffle- love this!

Just need to hem the red skirt.

Mini modeling session yesterday, on Valentine's Day...she was none too happy with me when I announced that she'd be taking it off and "saving" it for her school party today.

This is what I did for the shirt ~

A multipurpose butterfly/heart/initial "i" for Isabelle!  I know, I may have dyslexia, but I sure am clever, ha!

Ouch!  See that scowl?

And here she was a few hours ago.

Whew!  

No permanent damage.

We opted for white tights in lieu of red leggings, and of course her "sparkle shoons!"

I could eat those little legs up no matter they're wearing!

All in all, I'm pleased with how it turned out sans pattern or other tutorial, but I do wish it had more "poof."  I'll have to read up on that!    =)

Sharing with~

Seamingly Smitten

Creative Itch

Sew Can Do

Tea Rose Home 

Sew Can Do