Field Trip Friday ~ Whole Nuther Level

Here is a little snippet of the antics my husband usually gets himself into while in Tahoe. Afterward, we were all joking that our Tahoe Vacation was taken to a "Whole Nuther Level". He had the whole beach watching in anticipation. The first video is long but the first minute is most critical. We nicknamed the chipmunk "Spencer", and it was a big joke the rest of the trip.

 

**No chipmunks were hurt in the making of these videos.

Hot Potato Salad in Tahoe

While in Tahoe I thought I would re-share a recipe I posted last summer. In Tahoe we always have a rib night, my brother-in-law Rob works magic with ribs, and this salad will definitely be making it on the table for rib night!! Hot Potato Salad is the most yummy, delicious, second helping potato salad you will ever eat. Not to mention everyone will love you if you make it and think you are the best cook around. For the entire recipe and pictures click here. Did I mention it has sausage in it?? Oh, Yeah!

Field Trip Friday ~ Bean Museum

If your kids love animals the Monte L. Bean Museum on BYU campus is a fun FREE place to take your kids this summer. My boys absolutely love the Bean Museum with all the exotic animals, reptile show and the glorious insect exhibit ~ they are in heaven. I happened to love the air conditioning!! BYU famous creamery is right around the corner and with lots of flavors a scoop of ice cream is the perfect ending to a fun day.

Yummy!

Birdie Sling ~ perfect diaper bag.

Last Friday I went and spent the day at my friend Jeanette's house and she helped me make 2 Amy Butler Birdie Sling Bags. I planned to keep one bag as a diaper bag and make the other for my sister who's birthday is this month. It was a really fun day, I have never attempted to make a bag before and Jeanette helping me step by step made all the difference. My pregnant brain could have never gone at it alone!! After stopping at Joann's and purchasing the interfacing we got to work. Cutting the interfacing and fabric pattern took the largest chunk of time. It was a little time consuming, but really no different then cutting out all the fabric for a quilt.

All my bag pieces with ironed on interfacing

Handle of Bag

Pocket for inside of bag

Almost done!!

I love the colors I ended up choosing for my sister's bag. I think the pink and browns will hide dirt and look great for a long time. As for me, I think it will be the perfect diaper bag. It is a really big bag, with two great pockets inside for your keys, phone and spare change. The large interior will be great for diapers, wipes and a change of clothes for the baby.

Sister's Bag all finished

My Diaper Bag!!

Strawberry Birthday

Last month was my Birthday and my Mom brought me down a few strawberry presents, which got me thinking.... over the years I have gotten a lot of great presents that were Strawberry themed. Take a look:

I got this cute vintage skillet from my Mom.

Kitty gave me this strawberry bowl. Perfect for spinach strawberry salad.

Last year my Sister Tina gave me this strawberry bowl for my birthday from Pier One.

(this picture refuses to face the right way, bugger!!)

My Mom also gave me this great vintage Avon strawberries and cream bath foam dispenser.

Jeanette made me this adorable strawberry hat last year for my birthday. Love it.

I could really go on and on and show tons of pictures and reminisce about wonderful strawberry gifts. It is fun to have a special collection that your friends and family remember and give you when your birthday or special occasions come around. Thank You Everyone.

Summer Flowers

Summer finally feels like it is in full swing here. Spending the afternoons at the local pool, BBQ meat on the grill for dinner and my garden looks amazing. After all the hard work I put in last spring I am really reaping the benefits this summer. Especially since this summer I am pregnant, I am happy to sit back and just enjoy it. Here is a little glimpse:

Bee Balm ~ just about to bloom.

White Coneflower ~ shouldn't be more than a few more days to see the full petals

Oriental Lillies ~ raging in colors from white, cream, light pink and dark pink

Summer Quilting

If you were to peek into my craft/quilt room these days you'd see a complete disaster. Fabric, thread, rulers and scraps everywhere. My latest quilt is for little guy number 2. Last summer I bought him an official big boy bed and I had big plans to make a quilt for that bed. We'll......a whole summer later I am finally making it happen.

A few months ago I found this adorable, cartoon-ish crayon drawing of Cowboys and Indians. I fell in love with the pattern and knew it was the perfect fabric to make a quilt for my own little Indian. The Fabric is from Henry Alexander (of course!) and is called "Giddy-Up Cowboy" I love the bright colors and the creamy background.

I decided to make 16-patch blocks (12" by 12")  to go alongside by 12" by 12" cowboy fabric. I picked 24 different brightly colored fabrics ranging from orange and yellow to blue and green to black and red for my 16-patches. I made the blocks 5 across by 6 down and added a fun blue polka-dot strips in between the rows to give it some dimension.

I tend to play it pretty simple with borders but this time, I have added a small 1 1/2" red and white inner border (seen here) and soon to be added a green cactus 2 1/2" second inner border and then my final border 3 borders that is a big deal for me!! fabric TBA. I typically pick most of my fabrics from my stash but I always love to go shopping and pick a final border from the quilt store.