michelejo.com

Category: Tending Hearth

  • Tumaro’s, will you be my Valentine?

    Yum, yum and YUM! I do love bread.  Like, really, really love it.  It’s hard living a lifestyle where most bread is off-limits most of the time.  I also hadn’t had such a great experience with low-carb bread products in the past.  So I was skeptical when I was shopping a few days ago at Sprout’s…

  • No-Spend January ReCap

    My no-spend January went pretty well, at least from the perspective of small and impulse purchases.  I was REALLY good! I did however spend $1250 on a new washer and dryer (which STILL aren’t here!) and another $900 on 22 couples’ personal training visits ($300 of this won’t be paid till February 15th, so I…

  • Pattern-o-rama

    In the last month, I’ve splurged on quite a few new patterns.  I had purged my patterns down to almost nothing during my long sewing hiatus of 2008-2010 and I’d kept only size 8+ Kwik Sew patterns for some strange reason.  I just sold several of them and purchased them again in 4-7 for Katie. …

  • Sienna Dress

    I think my dd might be a tad too old for this pattern as it comes out of the printer (or maybe I messed it up at some point) but I have a few modications in mind for my next go at it.  Perhaps it’d look better if I were to actually hem it.  Nevertheless, it…

  • Birthday Dress!

    What more could a Hello Kitty fan ask for, to wear on her sixth birthday?  I used Modkid’s Penny and I’m quite happy with the pattern.  I made a tester without the empire waist and that one definitely looks like a nightgown to me.  This version, which the pretty Chez Ami knits and the empire…

  • Pillowcases Galore!

    Kayla asked me to teach her how to use the sewing machine and serger, so I walked her through making a pillowcase!  She’s made several more since, and has also branched into designing her own Barbie outfits!  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t thrilled. 😀  It’s easy-peasy!  Take one yard of a…

  • McCall’s M5611

    This pattern is out-of-print, I think, which isn’t surprising as it’s been curing in my stash for a few years. <vbg> I made view C in a size 6, which is perfect for K. Now that it’s made, I wonder if she might be a tad old for this style; I like it though and…

  • Getting Organized | All those old family snapshots…

    The easiest way to get all those family snapshots organized is to get some inexpensive photo storage boxes.  I recommend picking one brand/style and sticking to it, so you can label the fronts and keep a uniform appearance going.  I’ve found that storing photos in whatever mix-n-match containers and boxes I have laying around just…

  • January 2012 Pantry Challenge

    I love pantry challenges but I haven’t done one in a very long time.  When we went Paleo/Primal back in August, I cleaned out our pantry really well and my intent was to NOT to get back into the hoarding I seem to fall into.  I tend to stockpile food and then AVOID using what I’ve…

  • No Spend January!!!

    Okay, I am back with a vengeance.  We looked at model homes again a few days ago (sans kids, so we could REALLY look) and I’m even more motivated to save as much in 2012 as possible.  I’m not sure we’ll end up going with a new build, but it was a reconnaissance mission and boy,…