Handmade Baby Stuff

As much as I wish I were a talented sewer and knitter, and that these arts came easily for me, alas that is simply not the case.  But that does not stop me from trying anyway!  With help from more talented friends and family, I have managed to produce a few items for the baby that are quite cute, if I do say so myself.

The hand-knitted baby blanket that I have been working on for a few months, (I am a very slow knitter!), is mere days away from being complete--pictures soon!  And the items below I just finished working on with my mom last weekend.  (My mother is an insanely talented sewer and crafter--she made so many of my and my sister's clothes when we were children.  I am trying my best to learn from her so I can do the same).

Here is the baby bib that we made from some vintage fabric that I thrifted years ago:

And here is the baby gown that I made from one of James' old t-shirts.  Pattern found here.

The gown was a little more difficult than the bib--mom helped a lot.  But, I'm a novice, so for anyone who has some sewing skills, the gown would be a breeze.  The pattern calls for using elastic at the bottom, but my sister (who has 2 babies) suggested a drawstring, as elastic is too easy for the baby to poke his tiny legs out of.  With a drawstring, (we used satin brown ribbon), you can tie his legs up in the gown!

Mom and I have 2 more gowns we're going to make this weekend from James' "I'm a Keeper" t-shirt and his "I Pass on Grass" t-shirt :)

And, just because I love this picture...here are my babies gazing out our front door at the snow a couple weeks ago.  Peach and Abby definitely know that Jones is on the way soon and they are not sure how they feel about it...we're trying to give them lots of love and attention now.  I honestly think they'll be fine and grow to love the baby, but we'll see.  (Only 3 weeks left until my due date!)

I'm planning to go to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse this weekend to take advantage of their Restaurant Week special menu and I have another baby shower tomorrow-fun!  What are your weekend plans?

XO, Becca

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Random Monday

I have been a bit absent from the blog of late, and I apologize.  I have had lots going on, and I promise to post later this evening with some pictures of some of the things that have been taking up my time.

Here is some randomness for your Martin Luther King, Jr. Monday:
~James and I saw Love and other Drugs last weekend--I really enjoyed it, James not as much.

~I also saw Geoffrey Canada speak last week in Columbia, and he was just as inspiring as I had hoped.  If you still haven't checked out his ideas, read Whatever It Takes by Paul Tough...it's next on my list.

image via here

If you're particularly interested in alternative ideas to our failing public education system, also read Work Hard Be Nice.

~I am officially 36 weeks pregnant today.  If I have the baby today, he will officially be full-term, even though technically full-term is 40 weeks...apparently, he has all the organ-function he needs now to be born perfectly healthy.  Believe me, this fact has not been lost on me...I've been talking to him all day trying to coax him out already.  My body is over being pregnant.  For real.  I have my 36-week check-up tomorrow, so I'll update if there is any news.

~I had an amazing baby shower last weekend, given by and attended by awesome family and friends--thanks everyone!  I will post some pictures of some of the items we received for Jones later.  Looking forward to a second baby shower given by my mother-in-law, aunt-in-law, and their friend this weekend!

~I Love Chris Colfer: see his Golden Globe acceptance speech for his role in Glee below:

~I have been super-domestic lately--nesting, you know.  Organizing, getting on a regular cooking schedule.  I made some amazingly healthy and tasty wheatberry salad last night--pictures and recipe later tonight!

image via here

~James and I are newly-obsessed with Entourage-(and late to the party, I realize)!  It is so great; I just love all the characters--Jeremy Piven is amazingly slimy and Vince's friends are all hilarious in their own rights.  We've finally caught up from Season 1 via Netflix, and now we can watch on through Season 7 via On Demand...love it.

~And finally, if you're looking for someplace to eat in Columbia this week, you are in for a treat!  It's Restaurant Week through January 22nd and so many amazing places have amazing deals going on--I think the hubs and I are going to take advantage of the Cantina 76 menu one night this week.

So, Happy Monday, loves!  Have you seen any good movies or TV shows lately; eaten at any great places? 

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Solstice for Restaurant Week

This post will be picture heavy and short on words because honestly everything we ate and drank last night was amazing. If you go to Solstice to take advantage of their $25, 3-course or $30, 4-course Restaurant Week special, you will not regret it.

We started with a 1/2 price bottle of Red Door pinot noir. Solstice has a whole page of wines that they offer for 1/2 price every Monday and Tuesday night. It was yummy; I described it to the waiter thusly: "It's like candy!"

The picture doesn't do it justice--this was the amuse-bouche that the kitchen graced us with; a triangle of phyllo stuffed with marscapone and bleu cheeses, drizzled with a balsamic reduction. Heaven.

Cheese plate; 4 different cheeses, including manchego, port salut, great hill bleu, and bellavitano. Always a winner.

Fried calamari with roasted red pepper-artichoke "salad" and pesto coulis. Nice.

A really good soup--crab and artichoke something with a small crab cake on top. Warm and rich.
The next bottle of wine was also from the 1/2 price list, and on recommendation form our server, Carey--who was awesome and very knowledgeable, by the way--it was called Penny Farthing. We liked it even more than the first bottle.

My favorite dish of the evening, (and it was hard to pick just one)...a Solstice Caesar salad with artichokes, Parmesan shavings, shaved red onion, an anchovy-lemon dressing and a balsamic reduction. You had me at Parmesan and balsamic reduction...

A bottle of Sugar Hill Ale rounded out the meal.

Although I have no actual pictures of our entrees, they were tasty. I had the American Snob Burger with gorgonzola cheese, garlic-leek confit and horseradish-black pepper ailoi. Most of it came home with me and I ate it for dinner again tonight.

Has anyone taken advantage of any other Columbia Restaurant Week special menus this week?

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