Apron Strings

Yesterday afternoon, I stumbled across a sewing magazine with instructions on how to make three different kinds of vintage aprons. I had some free time and an urge to sew something so I pulled out my box of vintage fabric scraps and started piecing some colors together! I absolutely fell in love with the first apron pattern (far left in above picture) because it looked so feminine with the ruffled pocket and ruffles on the bottom. A sewing we will go....

Mom helped me dig through my huge pile of mismatched fabrics and, with her excellent eye for color coordination, came up with these three matching fabrics which I love together (probably because they're pink and green :)! I am really happy with how this apron turned out because normally I am terrible when it comes to following unfamilliar sewing directions. :) I absolutely love wearing aprons! Does anyone else or is it just me? There's just something about putting on an apron that makes everyday tasks more enjoyable! This is so silly but this morning I was actually planning today's outfit to match my apron! :)

This afternoon I was inspired after reading about Hannah's recent bread making post! I had always wanted to try making those beautiful artisan breads and thought I'd try my hand at it today.

I found this recipe on Panera Bread's website after Googling "artisan breads". I made their Three Cheese Bread but with two kinds of cheese because we didn't have any Asiago cheese. We're having soup tonight for dinner so I thought that would go nicely with the meal. Next, I really want to try Hannah's recipe for Italian/French bread! Is anyone else starving? :) ~Alli

From Trash To Treasure...

Yesterday when Mom and I went to the Pregnancy Center, we stumbled across a goodie that was laying in a trash pile in front of our storage units.

Here it is! :) Yes, it looks like a total piece of junk! There were chips, scratches, spiders, and stains all over this thing, but I had something in mind for this desk. :) Mom and I hauled it into the van, spiders and all, and took it home. Some very strong cleaner and many paper towels later...
A new sewing table! I am so excited! Before, I had my sewing supplies on my hope chest, and my knees kept knocking up against it when I tried to sew. I had always wanted a little sewing area! Sure the drawers get stuck sometimes but that's okay. :) The insides of the drawers were stained really badly so I scrubbed them and cut out some drawer liners from scrap fabric.
I'm ready for some sewing! I already have some projects lined up that I'm working on and need to finish soon. :) Maybe I'll post them when I finish! ~Alli

Sprouting Update

It has been twenty-two days already, and they are still growing! I am looking forward to eating fresh green salads during the winter! Now, I need to thin them, but I'm not sure how far apart. I'm going to do some research to see. I'd hate to throw away all of the thinned plants! Maybe we can plant them in the house. :) Anyway, I just wanted to share their progress and keep you updated on my gardening experiment! Oh yes, and there's...


This sweet little angel! He is so bad! ;)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! ~Alli

Fun With Seeds and Family

Today I have started a project that I have never attempted before- growing vegetables from seed during cold weather. I'm kind of nervous. :) We have grown vegetables in our cold frame in the spring and they did extremely well so we'll see what happens! I tried growing flowers from seeds last year and wasn't very successful. :)

Yesterday, Eric helped me relocate our empty cold frame to our open garden plot so our veggies would get more sun. After loosening the soil today, I planted my seeds! For my experiment, I decided to plant some lettuce and spinach for salads throughout the cold weather. Also, planting lettuce and spinach is pretty fool-proof since they're both very versatile vegetables. I planted half of the cold frame with lettuce and half with spinach. We shall see if they grow!

Buddy watched me plant today and was constantly running away with my seed packets! I guess his cuteness makes up for his mischievousness. :)

At around lunchtime today, Nan, Aunt Rhonda, and Emily came over for a visit! It is always so nice to have them. :) We had spicy vegetable soup, pasta salad, and turkey wraps for lunch. Emily loved playing with Buddy!

After everyone had left, Mom, Eric, and I went for a country drive to pick Philip up from college. Mom surprised us for dinner by taking us to an Italian restaurant! Now we are all stuffed and sleepy. :) A perfect ending for a wonderful day! ~Alli

New Place to Gather

There has been alot going on at the Gathering Place lately. Mr. T is on vacation and has decided to put a much needed deck on the back of our home.
Eric helping Dad lay the floor down. Pretty soon we will be having coffee on the deck :)