where did it all come from?

So we moved in December and we had to get rid of alot of stuff, I mean like a whole car port full went to salvation army alone. So when we moved last month I thought we would be in good shape as far as not having that much random stuff.

Boy was I wrong.

slowly but surely we've been going through boxes. Finally got books up on the book shelf and getting organized. Organization is not my strong suit. That whole saying a place for everything and everything in its place...yeah at my old apartment that was not the case. I'm determined to not that be the case in our beautiful new apartment.

Today I tackled most of the bedroom. It has by far always been the hardest for me to keep clean and organized. This is what it looked like last week when I took pictures for my mom

Clothes everywhere and my quilting/fabric a total disarray. now I haven't even touched the sewing stuff yet but I have all my clothes hung up and put away. I got like 4 boxes cleared out and a bunch of stuff stored away in our lovely storage closet our apartment came with in the laundry room. all in all I feel much better about the crazy amount of stuff. Here are some afters

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my husbands side of the closet with shoes and accessories. those still need to be organized some more, but its a start

my side of the closet. I'm kinda scared, we still have a ton of laundry to do

where's it going to go?

ah the clean floors,so nice.now I just need to get some pictures on the walls

the next challenge

the trash and boxes that I got rid of, it feels so good. also (you can kind of see got rid of a bag of clothes and a box of random stuff to be donated

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I had a few people ask me for this recipe at the shower and I thought I would put it up here. I first made this for one of my BFF's birthdays in May. I'ts a combination of recipes with some additions from my self and a suggestion or two from my friend so I'm totally making up the amounts.

Ingredients:

1 package frozen spinach thawed and drained

1 14.5 ounce can of artichoke hearts chopped

1 cup of mayonnaise

1 package Knorr's vegetable soup mix

1 package of cream cheese chopped in cubes

1 sourdough bread bowl *optional*

2-4 garlic cloves minced (this is to taste, I heart garlic so I'm of the more the merrier camp)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

combine everything in a bowl, save some of the Parmesan to sprinkle on top. scoop out the innards of the bread bowl and fill with dip, cover with the lid. If you're not using a bread bowl just cover with foil. Bake at 375* for an hour or until hot and bubbly. its not the healthiest, but it's evilly delicious and definitely a crowd pleaser. Serve with baby carrots, celery sticks, crackers or just a spoon ;-)

if you don't use a bread bowl just put in a 9x11 baking dish. like this pretty one I found at Ross for my sister-in-law. I was quite excited to find this as her kitchen colors are black, white and red, and well its just pretty

Sewing nook

I now have a little sewing nook! I have been sewing/quilting for about 7 years now. wow, hadn't thought about. never have I had a dedicated place to be able to keep my sewing machine out at. Its always been carted out to the dining room table or for the short time we had no dining room table, the card table had to also be carted out. this is a very modest little area, and I'll still have to do all of my cutting at the dining room table but this makes me so unbelievably happy that it can be out all. the. time. woo hoo!

I even have a little inspiration board, my cousin gave it to me for Christmas.It's a map of Paris and its hanging on a cute little flower hook my aunt gave me for Christmas at least 4 years ago that Ive been waiting to find the perfect place to hang it. I think it looks nice.

now I just want to sew sew sew! thanks goodness I have saturdays off now

yay bridal shower!

Last weekend was the eagerly anticipated bridal shower for my sister-in-law. Other than a minor mishap with the chocolate fountain (ok maybe not so minor) everthing went of without a hitch. I think the bride enjoyed it at least and thats what matters.

me and the bride to be. boy oh boy, I look like my mother on my wedding day with what she calls the george hamilton tan. I need better sun screen

Goodie Bags! salt water taffy and root beer barrels

tables with sunflowers and fun little sugar shaker vases from good 'ole dollar tree


tea cart with the prizes for the games


these little diddies are chocolate sunflowers "potted" in pear and coffe jelly beans and lemon heads. these were the consolation prizes for a game that ended in a 3 way tie. plus the bride liked the sunflowers so much she got one too!

banner made using this pattern and extra large ric rac instead of bias tape. I cut out 8'' sqaures instead of using a charm pack to get the size I needed. I heart extra large ric rac, it makes things fun

the whole backyard, with the sun! it was foggy right up till 2:00 when the shower was scheduled to start, thank goodness the sun came out, even if it was a little breezy all afternoon

Menu: spinach artichoke dip served with crackers,celery and carrots,strawberries, marshmallows,pineapple and pretzel rods (meant for the fountain but still delicious on their own) sparkling fruit punch and of course cake!

sunflower cupcakes that I just had to have (if you see this post you'll see why) and carrot cake

the fountain before it lost the battle with the wind, you can kinda see at the base how the chocolate was starting to harden. oh well it was pretty (yummy!) while it lasted

I love how all the planning paid off and for the most part everything I had envisioned got transfered to reality, which always makes me smile

Over all a great day and weekend. We got our dresses to alterations, found some super cute bridal party and brides shoes (at kmart of all places,score!) sushi with the bride and made of honor, and one last little visit with some dear friends from Georgia

Project!

Some pictures from the evening spent working on decorations and what not for the bridal shower I'm co-hosting in a couple of weeks, in no particular order

a small part of the banner, plus a flag quilt using the X-block pattern my mother-in-law is making for a cousin

These are little bags for the favors






Table Runners, wish I had gotten a picture of the fabric being used for the table cloths, it was found at walmart for a $1.50 a yard by my mother-in-law she hadn't seen the fabric I already had and it matches perfectly! oh well, I'll get pictures of everything the day of the shower.




Romey, my in-laws cat, he always helps with any sewing project

everything for the banner before I cut it all up