Things I Learned….Cleaning the Closet

1. I own too many clothes

2. I wear approximately only 30% of the clothes that I own

3. I have spent far too much money on clothes

4. If I had the money back for the clothes that I do not wear, I would be rich (and probably buy some new clothes)

5. Fitting into to something does not mean that it fits you well

6. While I refuse to believe that 28 is old, it is, in fact, too old to wear some things

7. Shirts without straps are one of those things

8. So are short skirts

9. Some teenage girl at Goodwill next week is going to strike it RICH!

10. Realizing that a pair of jeans that you had stashed away in the “too tight” pile BEFORE baby, fits now AFTER baby, is a good feeling!

In all reality, getting rid of clothes can be really hard. Some things have sat in a bin under our bed for a LONG time, refusing to walk themselves into the Goodwill pile, with me convincing myself that I will still wear it some day. Remembering how cute it looked when I was 22, and thinking that I might be able to pull it off again. Realistically, those items just bring me down, make me wish that I was something that I am not anymore. Go away, depressing clothes! Times have changed! I’m a mom! I’m a doctor! I’m a grown woman, stop bringing me down!

I make jokes about Stacy and Clinton sometimes, but really, if you want to gain a good perspective on how to dress yourself well (and appropriately), watch What Not to Wear. They have great advice that works for any body type. I have learned a lot about how to buy clothes that really work for me. The right fit, the right size, the right cut. Makes all the difference in the world. Approximately 90% of the things I kept, I have bought since T-dogg has been born, and based on things that I learned from that show. Things that just look better on me now. And when you look better, you feel better. It’s worth going through things and getting rid of stuff that just isn’t doing anything for you anymore, and keeping the stuff that works.

Manifesto

Probably in my top 10 favorite songs of all time.

Manifesto Video - By The City Harmonic

Plus a Thad picture because I can’t help myself.

Baby Update

For the record, baby Kolsen was born the very night that I brought the jalepeno pepperjack scones to his Mommy. They are magic scones!

Perfect Pizza

I have had a hard time finding a pizza crust recipe. Pizza was always a staple dinner in my house growing up, and I still love it. For a while I bought premade crusts, but those puppies are expensive. Mom always made her crust from scratch, but for some reason I could never get her recipe to come out right. Bread recipes and I often have a hard time, for whatever reason. AND THEN! I came across a new recipe. By chance, it was in one of my mom’s cookbooks (and by cookbooks, I mean 3 binders with loose sheets of papers, disorganized, and falling all over, that I organized for her into one concise and labeled binder. You’re welcome, Mom).  It wasn’t a recipe that she ever uses, and we were going to trash it, but I figured I might as well give it a whirl. The recipe came from a family friend, who comes from an Italian family and grew up in Chicago…someone who knows their pizza. And it turned out great!

The crust was nice and fluffy and flaky without you feeling like you are eating a chunk of bread with pizza toppings on it. The recipe is for a full pizza (including toppings), but it is made as a cheese pizza, so I added some extra toppings. Usually I just spread mozarella, but I followed the recipe for the cheese, and it made it extra delicious!

PIZZA CRUST

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 pkg. quick rise yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons oil

3 1/2 to 4 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in the water, then add all other ingredients. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Spread dough on pizza pan, then let rest for about another 15 minutes before adding any toppings

TOPPING

3 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

Toss together above ingredients then put add to crust after spreading sauce over crust. Add any additional  toppings and bake at 425 until cheese is melted and crust is slightly browned.

Spoiled Rotten

I like to think of it as “well loved”, not spoiled. Thad got an early birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa Crossland, who are visiting this weekend. Giddy up!

Come out, Baby!

Supposedly, spicy foods help women pregnant women start going into labor. Probably has no grain of truth, but I was going to visit a days-away-from-due friend today and thought I would try a recipe I have been wanting to make for Jalapeño Pepperjack Scones. I got this recipe from Joy The Baker's Blog (good ideas, fun sense of humor). Check out her blog.

I’ve had a thing for jalapeños lately, I’m not sure why. It started with cream cheese stuffed, bacon wraped, jalapeño poppers. And trust me, you can’t go wrong with those. This recipe sounded delicious as well. Here’s the link to the actual recipe.

When the recipe includes a pile of butter and a pile of cheese……that’s a winner

Dough gets rolled out into a circle, and cut into 6 slices, then baked for 25 minutes (or 35 if you are my slow but dependable oven)

Please note that there are only 5 scones in this pan….that’s because I ate one. It was delicious. I did not go in to labor. But I’m also not pregnant, so that makes sense.

So we’ll see if baby Kolsen arrives soon. I’ll pat myself on the back if he does.  

Quilt No. 12, Done

Number 12 is just a guesstamite. Hm, not really sure how to spell guesstamite, and it doesn’t come up on spell check. Strange. Moving on. I saw this project, a little wall hanging, in a quilting magazine, and thought it would look good in the dining room.

Not in love with the colors that they used, but that is an easy thing to change. I wanted it to go with one of my favorite pieces of decor in our house, a painted barn door that used to belong to my grandma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have it hanging in the dining room, and I was thinking of putting the new hanging on the opposite wall. I went to my usual quilting shop down the road, picked out some fabrics and started cutting a week ago. From start to finish, it took me about a week and a half, I finished it on Sunday night. It was by far my fastest project, but it’s not that big; about 3.5 feet long and 1.5 feet tall.

 

I really like the colors, it goes perfect with the painting, and looks nice with the wood in that room (it’s on the table in the picture). The one thing I didn’t think of is how I was going to hang it. Usually I just use push-pins to put up hangings, but this one is long enough that it is saggy in the middle if you just use pins. I am going to have to make a sleeve on the back to put a dowel though. So I guess it is technically not done yet, but close enough.