Right now, THIS GIRL:

is 2 months shy of being FIVE years old

Will ONLY wear dresses and skirts and nightGOWNS

loves princesses

is WAY too smart for her own good

Makes me laugh hysterically EVERY. DAY.

I love me some Lainey.

My creative space has been a little neglected lately....

YIKES!! This is what happens when I NEED to get some work done and I let the 4 year old "work" with me. Been moving stuff around for a bunch of reasons and now it's completely unusable, see...Too much old stuff clogging my brain.

But, Lainey did design a pretty cool quilt during work time:

She used all of the Scraps from the Metro Sampler Quilt

Registration available for In Shop Class or as an Online Student:)

Who's In??

Welp, I am gonna go and take EVERYTHING out of my craft room and put it all back together in a new way that'll encourage my creative flow. I have been on a roll lately and I wanna keep it going, I need my space to reflect that!!

More on that soon, have a great day:)

Kristina

Became THESE: 

Metro Sampler Quilt (12" blocks)

Metro Sampler BONUS!! (6" blocks)

SUPER excited to launch this NEW Block of the Month at The Shop

You'll actually SEW two blocks per month:)

There will be FOUR colorway options!!!

I'll be teaching it...fun huh?? More info soon!!

Would anyone be interested in an online program too??

Happy Monday:)

Kristina

3 Sweet Potatoes

1 Sweet Yellow Onion

2T. Olive Oil (infused with garlic)

2 tsp. Cumin

1/8 -1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1/4 C. Light Brown Sugar

Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste

Chop Onion and Cut Potatoes into 1 inch cubes 

Put all ingredients into a Ziploc and give it a good shake

Line a baking sheet with Foil and spray lightly with Cooking Spray

Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes

Turn Potatoes and bake an additional 10 minutes

Serve with BBQ Bleu Turkey Burgers--YUM!!!

Let me know if you give 'em a try:)

Happy Monday!!

Kristina

Not sure what clicked, but I am feeling better about this year. Hopefully it's not just that "first week of January, motivated and ready for the world" thing.

I think it's because I took a long look at the people who inspire me and it made it very clear what I want this blog to be...heartwarming, real, honest, true life, good variety, feel good, inspiring, innovative, forward thinking.

I think I am pretty much the only person left on earth that reads blogs the "old school" way.

When I find someone I "like," I bookmark their Blog into one of my interest categories:

Daily Reads, Designer Blogs, Quilt Blogs, Scrap Blogs, Photography Blogs, Food Blogs

Then, I usually follow them on facebook and twitter and pinterest--yikes!!

Too much information?? Sorry, I go into organization mode:)

My husband was a little shocked to see how many blogs I "follow." So, in his words, I started to "trim the fat." I always look at my DAILY READS, but not always the other categories on a regular basis, so they tend to pile up. Last night I went through and kept the ones that made me feel good...PLAIN & SIMPLE.

Are there ever blogs you read that make you feel bad? Feel bad about yourself? Not cause they are mean, but because they are do or say things that make you feel inadequate?? Well, I decided I didn't need those in my life anymore. Why was I using up precious time reading something that made me feel bad?? Dumb.

There are still a lot of Blogs I follow, don't get me wrong, but it's a good list of wonderful people who entertain me, are honest, offer inspiration and are REAL. Some I have read for 5+ years, others just a couple of weeks, but it's all about right now...

A few people WHO INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW: In no particuplar order. Well, except Kal. I read lovelife every.day. and have for a very long time. She's good stuff.

Kal Barteski

Elizabeth Kartchner

Casey Wiegand

Camille Roskelley

Amy Friend

Anna Maria Horner

Ali Edwards

Elsie Larson

So, who inspires you?? Who do you read every day?? Do you have a blog??

All, I can say is that I hope this blog is a place that makes you feel GOOD. Thank you so much for visiting, no matter how often. I appreciate that you take the time to read what I have to say. 

If you like what you see, be a pal...

twitter | google friend connect (right sidebar) | subscribe via email (right sidebar) | flickr | Pinterest

All the best!!

kristina

1. Authentic Mug Rug Front, 2. Coming Soon Quilt, 3. DQS11: finished quilt FRONT, 4. barcode quilt, 5. DQS10-Quilt Front, 6. Kristina's Runner (front), 7. Scrappy Mug Rug Swap, 8. SUTK Table Runner, 9. fall2011runner, 10. little leaves., 11. Barcode Quilt, 12. Rain or shine, 13. Batik Super Star, 14. SUGAR POP Mug Rug Front, 15. chevron, 16. DQS10-back of quilt

6:00am    Bridget wakes up, I get her bottle.

6:02am    Matt leaves for work

6:15am    Put Bridget back to bed.

6:16am    I snuggle back into bed with hopes of a few more hours minutes of sleep.

6:17am    Alaina's door opens and she crawls into our bed. She is SO sneaky. I was awake, but pretended I was sleeping to see how she does it. VERY slowly, she feels around for where everyone is, climbs in, one leg at a time, lays down and covers herself up. She has never been so quiet, slow or intentional.

6:21am    Alaina starts coughing so she's BUSTED!! I roll over and we snuggle and chat for awhile.

6:47am    I hear footsteps. Half asleep I think "That's weird! Bridget is walking, but she can't climb out of her crib and open her door." In walks Matt, " I don't work today, Got it mixed up."

Now comes the part where I re-evaluate what today is gonna look like.

ORIGINAL PLAN: Take girls to daycare, put away Christmas stuff, clean the house, catch up on laundry, SEW!!! Man, do I have a lot to catch up on. Go to the YMCA and get a good workout in. Do meal plans for the week, etc, etc, etc....

NEW PLAN: Take the girls to daycare and SPEND THE DAY WITH MATT. What???? Honestly cannot remember the last time we spent the whole day together...what.a.blessing.

7:45am    We are packed and ready to go.

8:15am    Drop girls off at Daycare

9:00am    Have the BEST Breakfast at a really neat spot in Rogers called Minne's Diner--SO,SO good!!

10am-2pm    We were all over the place. Doing some returns, looking for deals, just enjoying the day with no plan in mind.

3pm          Went to the YMCA together and got a good workout in.

4:30pm     Pick the girls up from daycare TOGETHER.

5pm         Dropped Alaina at Dance Class TOGETHER and ran some errands with Bridget TOGETHER.

6pm         We head home, all of us, at the same time.

6:45pm    Bridget goes to bed

7pm         Skype with Grammy and Papa (they are in Vegas)

7:15pm    I make a super fast, super yummy spur of the moment kind of dinner (recipe coming soon!)

8:00pm    Matt does dishes while I snuggle and read with Lainey.

8:20pm    Alaina goes to bed

8:30pm    Matt and I watch some of our favorite shows and chat on the couch in our comfy clothes and cozy blankets.

10pm       Lights off!! We are both trying to get more sleep at night. No more late night TV.

I feel so much better. My heart and Soul are Happy. We needed that. I needed that.

TODAY REMINDED ME: How much I LOVE my husband. How much I miss my husband. How important it is to take time for US and not feel guity about it. How important it is to nurture our marriage. I could not do what we do without him. Matt is an amazing girl dad. He is hilarious, he makes me laugh, so hard. 

The End.

I should be setting goals.

I should be planning ahead.

I should be catching up.

But I am not.

Still spinning in circles from what was 2011. Pretty sure it was the fastest, craziest year yet.

And, I have no idea why.

Is it because we have two kids? Is it because we traveled a lot?  Not totally sure, but it came and went and I seriously CANNOT believe 2012 is here.

Today I am feeling overwhelmed, blessed, grateful, happy, content, anxious, hopeful.

Really? All of that?

It was a WONDERFUL season with Family and Friends, we are VERY lucky for the support and love we receive from all corners of our lives.

I LOVE fresh starts, I LOVE the idea of clean and new.

Taking our Christmas Stuff down tomorrow, hoping that'll help me get rollin!!

Happy New Year!!

Kristina

Still here, still alive, just staying afloat through the holidays:)

So far this month....

I turned 30

Finished the Fireplace, yay!!

Learned how to use the NEW! Long-Arm at the SHOP

Baked some goodies

Attended a Christmas Concert at Alaina's Church/School (she's the one with the purple dress and headband:)

So sad, this is blurry:( She insisted on standing by the Nativity scene, was so confused as to where Baby Jesus was??

Visited SANTA at the Gymnsatics Gym!!

Started putting in a bathroom in our basement. Patiently waiting for some lovely gentlemen to finish it up in time for Christmas:)

My parents moved from my childhood home to the cabin PERMANENTLY, so I've helped as much as I could (not enough!) and we went there this past weekend for STOCKING STUFFERS!!!:)

Miss Bridget turned 15 months and is ALMOST walking. She is having surgery next week (ear tubes) so we are hoping that'll seal the deal...a healthy baby and a walker:)

December is always busy (for everyone) BUT this year has been a little ridiculous. SO excited to get through the week and have a nice quiet Christmas Weekend with Family and Friends.

SO, SO grateful that Matt will be home ALL DAY Friday, Saturday AND Sunday.....NO work, NO wrestling, just US..toegther, for Christmas. It doesn't get better than that!!

Hope you all have an amazing holiday with the ones you LOVE. Thank you for visiting and your continued support:)

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!

See you on the Flip Side;) 

Kristina

The girls have been trading illnesses for weeks and its now gotten me too, no fun!!

BUT, it's that time of year and I have already come to terms with the fact that someone is probably always gonna be sick throughout these lovely winter months:) Spring can't come soon enough for me!!

It is also one of my favorite times of the year (weird huh?). Before we could put out the Christmas stuff, I was bound and determined to finish some projects that have been weighing on my mind--so glad they're done!!

Remember in January, I REORGANIZED THE MAIN LEVEL?? Well, it took 10 months (of being irritated by RED), I finally made a move and painted!!!

Time to share...

As most of you know, I am ALL ABOUT functional space. AND our space just wasn't functioning for us, so I made some changes.

It's just SO EXCITING when a vision comes to life, especially when it didn't cost much:) The walls are an off white/grayish color and I repainted the Big Ole bookshelfy thing a taupey gray, mmmm, love it.

Everything you see was already in the room/house except the EXPEDIT from IKEA, metal baskets (on floor) from Homegoods and metal shelf basket storage which was down in my sewing room. The playtable in the middle gets moved all around the house (based on need and function + has three sizes of adjustable legs for your growing child!) and has storage below, from Land of Nod.

MAIN GOAL of the playroom re-do= minimize the appearance of plastic/blinky/pink toys + parts...I just couldn't take it anymore!! I honestly don't feel that just because you have kiddos, your house has to be filled with ugly crap-ola. There, I said it.

 Found some awesome Black and White organizing trays and boxes at the DOLLAR SPOT inside Target.

Do you like our child safety lock?? It's an old dog collar. Matt was being resourceful:) The paint was still drying so stuff still needs to be put back. Fun little workbench from the cutest online shop Tushies and Tails, went to HS with the owner, a total sweetheart.

Also, I painted the fireplace:) More on that once I finish moving furniture around, get the drapes up and decorate for Christmas!! First things first though, stop coughing.

Hope you have all been well and are enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend!!

kristina

OH!!

1. my landing page is now a domain! www.sewdomestic.com, woohoo!!

2. I am gonna be 30 next week, NOT woohoo!!

These are the things that caught my eye on our first pass through the sales floor... 

BLEND FABRICS

Ruffle Fabrics

Melody Miller

Lizzy House: Halloween

Lecien Fabrics

Kwik Sew

Just liked this quilt:)

WANT this table from the Windham booth, AND the chairs, LOVE!!!

Do you like what you see??

more tomorrow!!

Kristina

I say that instead of "had time," cause I think we always have the ability to MAKE TIME. There are just certain things that shimmy their way into our "time" that makes it especially challenging to make.

You still with me??

Well, anyways...a couple of times per year I make the time to sneak away with girlfriends and JUST SCRAPBOOK. It's THE. BEST. We have a pretty rigorous schedule of coffee shops, paper + fabric shops, yummy meals and wine:) Oh, and we scrapbook.

There are a couple of things I do AT HOME that make these getaways more productive. This is the baker's rack in my home office. It houses some pretty important things.

I have learned along the way that it is much easier to prepare for these weekends if I do a little work day-to-day. I have quote books and journals for each girl handy so that I can write stuff down that they say or do. These entries are always dated, so that when I go back to scrapbook a certain time period I always have a story or point of reference to go on--SUPER helpful. Each girl has a blank journal that I try and write a lengthly entry in at each birthday and half birthday. Now VERY fun to look back on as #2 is getting older and seeing how she is similar and different from #1. The quote books are this and this. They would make awesome teacher gifts or stocking stuffers, just saying!!

Next, I have a little wire basket that keeps all of the paraphernalia we collect in one spot. Here you'll find school + activity pictures, ticket stubs, art projects, special notes and cards...things I want to include in our scrapbooks, but don't want to have to search for when the time comes. I also keep our family's scrapbooks out in the open now that my oldest daughter has an interest in looking at them. SO FUN!!

Hope one of these tips helps you out!! Got a tip for me?? I'd LOVE to hear it!!

Here are a few of the pages I did on our last weekend getaway:)

I also finished Baby B's FIRST YEAR album, so that'll be next:)

Thanks for stopping by!!

Kristina

view more scrapbooking pages here.

On Saturday, Miss Bridget turned ONE!!!

Happy FIRST Birthday Bridget Kate!!!

You were definitely worth the wait.

We are just SO grateful to have you, little lady. You are mello and sweet and such a delight. Cannot wait to see what the next year brings! You will SHINE. xoxo, mama