tiny felted bunnies

easter is right around the corner... when i stopped at my moms after school today, she shared with me what she's been making for my girls and me...

oh my goodness... look at this little trio...

tiny felted bunnies... so cute! 

she knits them first...

then there's a felting process that turns them into little woolen treasures...

a little stuffing... and a little needle felting of their faces, ears and tails...

{this one is my favorite... such a sweet little face...}

{each with their own personality... this one looks a bit grumpus...}

really, really adorable... i love 'em all...

and the fact that they're handmade makes them all the more special...

have a happy day~

angie



do you like to read?

a while ago... i joined a book club... a few friends and myself head to dinner once a month... we take turns selecting a book... it's fun to catch up with one another... and we talk about the book that we just read...

our list so far...

the help
hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet
fireproof
a tree grows in brooklyn
the memory keepers daughter
the hunger games
the forgotten garden
queen of the big time
secret daughter
gone girl

if i'm being honest... i never thought that i would join a book club ... i hardly ever read after high school... magazines and things like that, yes... but i was never much of a head to the library or bookstore and grab the latest best seller kinda girl...

once i got married and had the girls i  rediscovered how much i really enjoyed reading... a little time to myself... a temporary escape from reality... it's kind of nice to get lost in the pages... 

i'm still not good about going to the library... if i do go, i takes me FOREVER to return a book... and there's a library... with a drive through drop box right around the corner from me... so silly, i know... but i'll actually have the book in the car with me... drive right past the library... and continue to tote it around for weeks past it's due date... it's a little flaw of mine :/

on the other hand... barnes and noble is one of my favorite places... if i have some down time it's one of my first stops {along with target, and joann's}

i felt bad because i never did finish the book for this month and we met last sunday... i talked about the parts from the 77 pages that i did read... the book was in the shadow of the banyan... i like what i've read so far and would eventually love to finish it...

the choice for next month is

big stone gap by adriana trigiani...

and i'll be starting it today... i'm determined to finish this one by our next get together... and that will be here before i know it...

do you like to read? if so... any recommendations?

have a happy day~

angie

pepper & onion pasta toss... a recipe

today i thought i'd share a favorite recipe of ours with you...

my friend shared this one with me years ago and i've been making it ever since...

pepper & onion pasta toss 

ingredients:

boneless skinless chicken breasts

red pepper

onion

olive oil

linguine 

parmesan cheese

how to:

clean the peppers {i usually use 2 red peppers... they are my fave... of course, if you'd like you could use green, orange, yellow... or a colorful mixture of all... totally up to you}... once they're cleaned... slice them into strips...

peel the onion {i usually use 1 large... it can be a sweet or red onion... your choice}...  slice it into strips as well...

{cute new bowl... thanks to my sweet friend... love it!}

add a coating of olive oil to the bottom of a large skillet...

add your peppers and onions to the pan and saute...

clean your chicken... {i always use one package}

add olive oil to another pan and add your chicken...

saute until done...

add cooked chicken to the pepper and onions...

toss together...

in a separate pan... boil your pasta... i always use linguine for this because it's john's favorite... {however, you can use whatever pasta you'd like... lots of options there}...

cook pasta according to package directions and then drain...

once drained... add pasta to the large skillet holding the peppers, onions, and chicken...

toss it all together... sprinkle the entire pan with parmesan cheese and toss again...

and that's it... pepper & onion pasta toss... so good!

hope you enjoy!

have a happy day~

angie

sunday to sunday

hello :)

this week went by so fast... i was on spring break and that was a beautiful thing...

time was spent with the girls without rushing... lunch and a little shopping with john while the girls were at school... had dinner with a friend that i haven't seen in forever... 4 hours of straight talking, catching up and laughing... {love spending time like that}... it even trickled over into the next morning for a 5:00 a.m. workout... it felt great to get moving... and i pushed myself to join WW yesterday morning... i just had to... i need that accountability... i'll keep ya posted with my progress here... fingers crossed for success...

it was so nice to just hang out during the day trying to get caught up on some things...

i'm not sure that i mentioned it here yet... but my spunky gram who had pneumonia is making the move to assisted living... that was a pretty big move for her... she's not in her new home yet but i'm working on a wreath like this for her... i think it'll look pretty on her door... and since it's so neutral we can add something cute to it for each of the holidays... 

{maybe i'll post a little tutorial on how i made it this coming week...}

i spent hours the one day in marina's room... we are hitting that phase where some toys just need to go to make room for the things that she really plays with... she has a large walk in closet so i pulled out all of the bins... i had quite a mess on my hands but it felt good to finally get to it... this photo is before i got started... it's looking much better now...

there's been lots of reading by the first grader... she loves junie b. jones...

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and the leprechaun trap paper came home from school... we were busy thursday night coming up with a plan...  it ended up being a family project... maizie brainstorming ideas for her little sister... marina sewing parts of it with my help... and john whipping up the construction of it... 

 {tiny hands... first time at the machine... she said "mama, i think the pillow and blanket need some trim"... i have no idea who she gets that from :)}

{the bed is a tissue box... we covered the box with green felt and cut an opening in the felt where the opening in the box was... then covered it with a blanket and added some "gold bars" to entice him... ya know... so that when he jumps up to get comfy he'll fall down into the hole... sounds like a plan... right?}

{the little tag she wrote... clipped onto the foot board with a tiny clothespin and rainbow streamers... haha... she has high hopes in catching one and can hardly wait to go to school tomorrow to see if she did...}

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my mom surprised me with a happy day surprise... she's on the ball... couldn't love it more... vintage table cloth... metal embroidery hoops and other sewing bits... little vintage chick and the smash book stamp i've had my eye on...

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 i finally made a washi tape bunting...

and i finished up the top of my mantel... kind of simple... it makes me happy... {although i think my bottles need some tulips!}  

 now... i need to get reading... i'm heading to book club soon... and i haven't even finished the book... uh-oh... 

have a happy day~

angie

washi tape bunting... a tutorial...

so... i definitely have a thing for washi tape... it's so colorful and comes in a bunch of patterns...

i keep stockpiling it and adding it to my washi tape holder...

several people have asked me what i do with the tape... 

well, so far i've used it to decorate envelopes that we've sent out in the mail...

i've added a cute band of it around a plain glass bottle that was turned into a vase...

but... what i've really been wanting to try is the washi tape bunting that i've seen popping up all over the place...

so here's a quick little tutorial for how i made mine...

supplies needed

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colorful washi tape

bakers twine

scissors

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* you can use any colors and patterns you      like... mix and match for endless options :)

* i used solid pink bakers twine but you could also use ribbon or regular twine...

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take the bakers twine and lay out the length that you would like for your finished bunting to be...

cut a strip of washi tape long enough to fold over the bakers twine... i didn't measure... i just cut a piece that looked about right and went with it :)

be sure to line up the edges of the tape and press the two sides together...

snip the ends of the washi tape strips at different angles and lengths to add interest...

keep going until you fill up the length of your bakers twine...

mix up the patterns and colors of the washi tape that you're using... the more random the better :)

{the patterns and colors that you see here were all purchased at either joann's, michael's, or target...}

once i finished... i hung up the bunting across our fireplace... here's a little peek of it so that you get an idea of what the finished project will look like...

this is a great starting point for my springtime mantel... once i decorate the surface area i will try to capture a pic of the whole thing so that i can share it with ya...

i think it's such a fun, cheery addition to any room...

do you think you'd like to make one of these?

 i'm pretty sure that i'll be making some more

 :)

have a happy day~

angie

ten on 3-10-13

it's time for ten on ten again... phew... these months are flying by... have you heard about the ten on ten photo project? {if not, you can check it out here...} i kind of love the idea... the whole gist of ten on ten is to capture 10 moments throughout your day... on the 10th of each month... it's to help with remembering the little moments that make up our everyday lives...

here we go...

i had a really great day yesterday... since i was sick on my birthday we didn't get to do what was planned for that day... so yesterday was the day... john took me to ikea... and  ross park mall... and to bravo for dinner... :)

he surprised me with a little somethin' somethin' in this little blue box... love...

while we were out of town... the girls spent the day and night at my mom and dad's house... they spent some time at the rose garden and maizie picked out this sweet little peep for me... it looks like foil wrapped chocolate but it's not :)

this morning i was putting away  some of my random purchases from ikea... i always have high hopes of leaving that store with great organizational stuff... once i get there i kind of get overwhelmed and end up with a cart full of odds and ends... like new scissors, straws and cute napkins {pictured} and {not pictured}... an alarm clock for maizie, cutting boards, drinking glasses, a wire basket, and 5 white picture frames... i have a serious frame problem... i migrate towards them in every store i enter...

was going through some of the purchases from yesterday... organizing and putting away... isn't this little t-shirt so cute? got one for  each of the girls...

morning snuggles between marina and maddie...

a little trip to target... a $4 chick... and i left it there... not sure why... maybe the girls and i will make some... 

a little trip to joanns... fabric... that did come home with me... new colors for the living room i think... 

it was finally warm enough here to hang outside today... it felt so good... out came the bikes, sidewalk chalk and neighborhood friends... 

and i did a little raking of mucky, wet leaves out of one of our flower beds... and look what i discovered buried beneath... i love this little crocus... i was hoping to find it in there somewhere... it's the only one that i have that is this color and it stands alone in this bed... not sure how it ever even ended up there... this little bit of spring went along way... that flower made me happy!!!

 the girls and john were watching this tonight... and i just have to ask... are any of you keepin' it squatchy?... hahahaha... so funny... {i probably shouldn't say that because for the people on the show it's some serious business}...

{probably the most unattractive ten on ten photo i've shared... but silly nonetheless...}

have a happy day~

angie

a rosy little necklace

on friday night i went to a pinterest inspired party thrown by a friend... there were 2 projects planned for that night but i got there a little late so i only had time for one...

a rosy little necklace...

i had this cute fabric at home... i love the pattern and the colors... and it went well with the necklace that i bought at joann's...

there are so many variations of rosettes out there... here's how mine ended up turning out...

once i twisted and twirled the fabric into rosy shapes that i liked... i attached felt to the back of them... and then attached them to the necklace...

it was pretty fun to make... and i can't wait to wear it :)...

have a happy day~

angie