The Perfect 10

What's your max weight? Come on, you know we all have one. It's the one we weighed during high school. Or after our last pregnancy. The weight from our first year of marriage. Or from those horribly delicious months when we worked at an ice cream store and ate everything in sight. (just me?). We promise ourselves we'll never get that big again. Then lo and behold... We are. That's me. I was literally .5 pounds away from the supposed max weight I ever wanted to be again. Then I get an email from Heather who is helping promote the new diet book The Perfect 10 Diet. Am I willing to try it? Heck yes. The book even tells you that you can lose 14 pounds in the first three weeks. I love those claims. The this is not typical for everyone claims. But guess what! One week in and I'm down five pounds? Seem miraculous? Are you intrigued? What if I told you that I have zero will power, I even cheated this week, but I am still losing weight? What if I told you that you didn't ven have to count calories? What if I said you drink whole milk and ate real butter? What if even chocolate was allowed? Are you listening yet? The Perfct 10 Diet helps to regulate ten major hormones in your body. By eating real and not processed food your body works more efficiently at burning weight right off our body. Sound too good to be true? Check back next week for more information on the diet and more real life success.

Ebeanstalk Toy Review

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A few of you may recognize this review from my family blog a few months ago, but with the holidays coming up I am reposting it here too:


My children instinctively know that a box in the mail is a symbol of good things to come.
As soon as our ebeanstalk package arrived my daughters grabbed onto my dress eagerly reaching towards the package and asking who it was for.

We opened the box to reveal the Wooden Activity Bus, which instantly became a new favorite toy. Both my two and four year old daughter loved the wooden bus that opened into a classroom setting complete with a teacher, a desk, a student, and even a world map.

My daughters loved the details, the ease of use and manipulation of the pieces, and the fact that multiple pieces meant more opportunities for cooperative play.

I loved the fact that the bus easily closed up, safely storing all the pieces in a convenient, cute, and still fully functional toy bus frame. The quality of this toy was also worth mentioning. The sturdy wood construction promised long-lasting durability even through my children's (not always so gentle) playing.

This cleverly crafted toy was very well thought out, well designed, and clearly made with kids in mind. If the Activity Bus is any indication as to the quality of the rest of the toys at Ebeanstalk, sign me up for the newsletter, because I will definitely be buying from them in future!

Visit Ebeanstalk.com from more great gift finds such as the magnetic responsibility chart which is next on my wish list!

Hawaii

Doesn't the background look fake?

I already miss the sandy beaches and the sea turtles that could care less if you got right in their face with a camera...

I got the swine flu and spent three days in bed. It was miserable. I mean, of course it was miserable, I had the flu... but it was made even worse by the fact that I could look out the window and see those crystal Hawaiian waters. What a waste!

But at least I am on the mend now, right?

Just think of all those sea turtles I missed out on!

New Dress Pattern

I've had this pattern in my head for a while so I finally sketched it out and turned it into reality. I was thinking about submitting it to YCMT, but I'm a bit short on time right now, so we'll see.

So let's see, we have shirred backing, a contrasting quilted border with a ruffle at the bottom and some great decorative stitching across the top. She loves it and I guess that's all that really matters, right? :)

Dance Recital

What is it about tutus, curly hair, dancing and spotlights?

Going back through some pictures and my daughter decided she wants to take dance lessons again. I have to admit, she does look pretty darn cute, though.

Money Saving Gift Idea

Make a cute boutique outfit as a money saving gift. Here's how:


This dress cost a whopping $5 at Target. Seriously. Not even $5.99, just $5. I didn't even know you could still buy clothes that cheap. :)


A quick fat quarter purchase that matches and two fabulous tutorials later we'll have an adorable gift!


I also bought 2 squares of felt in coordinating colors, then I headed over to This fabulous tutorial to print out a template to create these darling flowers:


A button and quick hand sewing job later the dress is complete. But wait! We're not done yet...



Ta Da! A matching purse!!


The Object Project has a wonderful little tutorial that teacher you how to use a DVD to make a purse. I actually let my daughter sew the purse body (she was thrilled!).


And about an hour later (and only $6.75 later) an adorable outfit for my daughter's best friend (and a matching one for her too, of course!)

The chic (and cheap) woman's cosmetic case

I'm cheap. It's true. Naturally, I have my indulgences. Don't we all? I love fabric. I love kid's clothes, and I love anything crafty. So I do, I'll admit, spend money on said items. Still, it's always done in a money conscious way. I'm talking coupon cutting, ebay and thrift stores, and bargain hunting. I don't like going out to eat, I feel it is a useless expense (though I am delighted when we get gift cards for dinner, because that I can justify!). The most expensive purse I've even bought was $24. Shoes? $28. Jeans? $32. (Isn't it saying something by the fact I actually remember the prices?)

I actually just bought myself a $60 bathing suit for Hawaii which I am still horrified by the price, but it's the first bathing suit that I feel comfortable in, and it's Hawaii so....

Anyways. Whew, I know how to digress, don't I?

Back to the point. My husband and I started going to the gym recently. I think it's a lot of money, but again, Hawaii. I want to be in tip top bikini body shape (regardless of whether I own a bikini or a one piece). You know what I mean. So my husband has this cute little super manly gym bag and cosmetic case. (Or whatever it's called when you put shampoo and razors in it). I have neither. So my husband tells me to go buy a cute gym bag and case that I like. But me being the cheapy McCheaperson that I am am irritated by his flippant attitude towards money spending. (Really, who tells their husband "no" when offered his credit card?).

I figure, hey, I have fabric. I have time (sort of), why not make myself a gym bag? To not wear myself out I decided to start with the cosmetic bag and I thought I'd share my tutorial with you. So here's an ode to being cheap, using items on hand, and saving some green:

Personalized Cosmetic Case:

To start gather your materials:
Zipper
Family Pictures
Contact Paper
Thread
Scissors
Iron
A bit of creativity

Decide how big you want your bag and make a photo collage in the approximate size with seam allowances and all that good stuff. Take the contact paper and cover the front and back. I laid my pictures on the face up contact paper than carefully covered it. The contact paper was forgiving to my mistakes so I was ok if I had to lift it up and try to reposition it again.



Here's my front and back pieces: An 8x10 was an easy way to be lazy about my collage.


Lay a towl on top of the contact paper and iron the contact paper a bit to make it super adhere to the pictures. DO NOT TOUCH THE IRON TO THE CONTACT PAPER. Use a towel!!
Next sew the zipper to the top of one collage (it's brown, it doesn't match, but it was all I had at home) :)


Sew the zipper to the top of the other collage: See how they are now attatched?


Leave the zipper open!!!!!!!!
Sew the pieces together. I slanted my edges a bit:


See why you should leave your zipper open? I had no way to turn my case inside out and had to take it apart and start again. Lovely.


Shape the edges by pinching them together. Seams lay on top of each other and you sew about 1-3 inches in. I did it at 1 1/2 inches.



Cut the excess:


Repeat for both sides. Then turn inside out. This is tricky. It will get wrinkled. You can kind of press WITH A TOWEL. Do not put the iron directly on the bag. Take your time and try not to rip it. The wider the opening the easier it will be.


Ta Da! Your very own WATERPROOF bag for the gym. I keep my shampoo, conditioner, razor, soap, and poofy washcloth thingee in here. I've been using it for about 2 weeks now and it has proven water resistant so far. I wouldn't suggest dunking it in a pool of course.


I hope you like it. Let me know if anyone uses this tutorial. Link us to your page in the comments section. Thanks!!