I Love These Recipes

What a busy week! Work was crazy with recreation class cancellations because of all of the rain, I went over to the new house everyday this week (not that I always did work, haha), and I went to garage sales this morning with my mom. Didn't find much, but that's okay because they were the first subdivision garage sales of the season and I still wouldn't want to miss it! Believe it or not, I actually asked for a couple hours off work this morning so I could go.


So, for this I Love ... Friday, I'm posting some of my favorite recipes from blogs and websites that I also love. Enjoy!

Mac & Cheese with Peas & Bacon. Photo and recipe from Kitchen Daily

Get Yo Man Chicken (very appropriately titled, if I didn't have a man, this would get one. Photo and recipe from Food Network)

The perfect appetizer and potluck dish. Photo and recipe from A Farm Girl's Dabbles

These are sooo delicious! Photo and recipe from Picky Palate.

Meeting the Neighbors

We're in the process of cleaning up, painting, and moving into our new house. SO exciting! One thing that has come up with moving into a new neighborhood is figuring out how to best introduce ourselves and get to know our neighbors (not always the easiest and least awkward thing in the world!). He thinks that we should go door to door and say hello, I say we meet them as we see them outside. I wouldn't want to be showing up at a bad time or have them feel like we're invading their space. I saw these door hangers online today and they seem like a cute, simple way to say hello without invading. Then, we can let them know when they can stop by if they're free because the invitation is open to them.

You can find the PDF download, so you can say a little hello to your neighbors, and the insight into how they were created on Candy Chang's website!

I Love Thursday & House

The hubby and I closed on our house yesterday! We are officially homeowners. Yesterday after we closed, we started cleaning house (washed walls, etc) and had a HUGE shopping spree at Lowe's. Then today he's has been there all day painting trim and cleaning more. I can't wait to move in. And I especially can't wait to start my garden! I'll be sure to document my garden experiences here.

So today is Thursday and I don't have work tomorrow because of Good Friday! Since tomorrow we're painting, cleaning, and picking up a washer and dryer that was donated to us (perfecting timing!), today I'm showing you items from Etsy that show my love for all things tea. Enjoy!

Ruffled Tea Towels from CottageRuffles

Petit Fours perfect for tea from Dulce de Luna

Dress by AfterShowerShop

DIY Tea Bag Kit by CookOutsidetheBox

Bloomsbury Mug by Summersville

Outer Space Tea Towel by LeahDuncan

I Love ... Organizing

Yesterday, I joined Pinterest! I have had the invitation sitting in my mailbox since January, and finally decided to do something about it after learning what can be done with it. Click here to follow me!

I have been getting super frustrated recently because I bookmark and save tutorials on my Mac and on StumbleUpon, but it's so difficult to actually remember what I wanted to make. Then I end up with 200+ favorites and no way to see why I favorited it in the first place! Enter Pinterest. On Pinterest, you can pin a website, but then you choose the image from that website that you want to appear on your pin board. So. Incredibly. Helpful. So my next project is to go through my favorites and transfer them onto Pinterest. Can't wait to get organized!

About our house, we got the clear to close yesterday and have a closing date set for next Wednesday! Can't wait to move in! It won't be for a couple weeks, but it'll be great once we do move. Much of my making has been on hold because of the lack of space in our apartment, so I'm excited to get another table and make some DIY storage/organizing!

Rosette Pillow Tutorial

Photo by Chris Everard

I found this tutorial on Etsy and it looked so cute and simple, I just had to try it! I wanted to use materials I had so my pillow is a bit smaller than the original, cream colored, and I used poly-fil instead of a pillow form (if you'd like to use a pillow form and/or add a zipper, see the tutorial on Etsy). I also packed my rosettes more densely but you can do what you please. Here's the tutorial:

Cut two felt rectangles 1" larger in both dimensions than you'd like your finished pillow to be (so if you want a 10" x 18" pillow, cut two pieces that are 11" x 19")

Out of a separate large piece of felt, cut sixty-3" diameter felt circles for your rosettes. Depending on how dense you'd like the rosettes on the pillow, you may use more or less (I used 50 on my 9"x11" pillow but mine are very densely packed). I used this almond can to trace one, then cut the rest from the original.

Fold each circle in half, then in half again to make a rosette. Make a couple stitches in the bottom of each rosette so they stay together and are easier to sew onto the pillow front.

Start hand sewing the rosettes onto the pillow front. You can make the row as wide or narrow as you want. Make sure you end up with the same amount of undecorated fabric on each end.

Once you're finished sewing the rosettes on, pin the pillow front to the pillow back with right sides together.

Sew around the pillow, leaving a hole large enough to turn the pillow right side out (mine was about 4" long).

Trim the bulk at the corners.

Turn your pillow right side out and stuff with poly-fil to desired firmness.

Fold the edges in and pin the hole closed. Sew to close the seam.

Finished product! Next time, I would definitely space out my rosettes more, but overall it was a great use for some leftover felt!