D-Day!

Hi, all! Sorry its been so long since I've posted anything. We've been very busy getting things organized, cleaned, etc., for baby girl's arrival. I will update with pics once I have a chance again. Today we are off to the hospital to have our baby girl via c-section, or as I like to call it, "baby-ectomy". ;) Hoping and praying everything goes well this time... would really love it if it goes better than last time. Either way, I'm planning on a long recovery and some quality time with my first daughter, and enjoying time as a family of FOUR! :) I'm really looking forward to seeing my son's reaction when he meets his baby sister for the first time. I have a feeling he will be a super sweet big brother, and I hope that the two of them have a fantastic relationship throughout the years. My husband has been a super big help to me throughout this pregnancy, but especially in the last few weeks, as he has been "nesting" much more than I've been able to. I know he will be a much bigger help after the surgery too, mostly because he has no choice in the matter. He rarely complains though, and I feel so blessed to have him in my life! If you have some time, a little prayer would be much appreciated, as I am very nervous about the big day. Thanks also for your patience, as I know it will probably be a while before I can post anything again. 

Have a great week, everyone! :)

D-Day!

Botany Quilt Finished!

I just finished the final touches on this quilt yesterday. I had the quilt top done since last year, but just now got to completing it. :/  I'm glad I'm getting things done, though. :)

I finished this quilt top last September (gasp!), as part of a quilt along that I joined in. Here's my previous post about it. I used the Botany fabric collection by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda. The quilt top was made using one jelly roll. 

I love the colors in this collection! I did my usual meandering stipple all-over quilting, using a gold-ish-brown thread. 

I kept the back simple, using the yellow fabric from the collection. 

I had some brown fabric on hand that I decided to use for the binding. 

 And, I added a little hand-stitching of the year and my initials. 

This quilt is going to some family members that have had a rough time recently. I'm hoping it will brighten their days a little. :)

Botany Quilt Finished!

Rain Gutter Bookshelves

I found this idea online, and thought it was perfect for us! We are always looking for great ideas that will save us some money, and this is by far one of the least expensive ways to install some bookshelves in a child's room! I think it cost us a total of $8 total! I definitely scored some brownie points with the hubby for being so frugal! :) Here's the tutorial we followed. And here's how ours turned out: 

My husband also recently painted our son's "Big Boy Room", and installed a new fan. We opted for a modern looking grey for the walls. I think it pairs nicely with the blue furniture in his room. I'll try to get some pics of the entire room soon. Still need to add some prints and decorations on the walls. I'm thinking we'll also add some more bookshelves as our son gets a little taller. ;) 

Rain Gutter Bookshelves

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

Wow! It's been a while since I've posted a recipe on here. But, these muffins are definitely worth mentioning. I actually found a recipe online for lemon-blueberry bread, modified it a little bit (as usual), and made these delicious muffins! Lemon and any kind of berry make a really delicious combination, in my opinion, and everyone loves blueberries, right? Anyways, here's my modified recipe: 

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

1/3 cup melted butter, cooled to room temp

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole-wheat flour)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp grated lemon zest

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a muffin tin, or line with paper cups.

In a mixer, beat together butter, sugar, lemon juice, eggs, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to the egg mixture until combined. Fold in lemon zest and blueberries. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin. 

Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove and cool on racks completely... or enjoy hot! Yum! :)

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins