UGH!

I was so ready for the rain to be over and the sun to be out... but this humidity is killing me! It's hot and humid, but I don't want to turn on the AC since the weather is so unpredictable at this stage in the season. Oh well, at least my garden is enjoying it!! I just planted my strawberries and beans today. Perhaps a bit too early... but hopefully the weather will continue to be warm.
So, for Easter I usually make my caramel apple crunch pie, but this year I found a new recipe I wanted to try. Strawberry Shortcake cookies- I found the recipe on Bakegirl.

They were as delicious as I had hoped! They taste just like strawberry shortcake (ya know- the kind you make out of the box). However, they need to be eaten pretty much as soon as they are baked-even just hours later they aren't as good- the fresh strawberries are what make them delicious, but also make them quite gooey the longer they sit. Perhaps next time I'll try refrigerating them ;)

May is quickly approaching. That means crazy sleep schedules for work (getting up at 3am to have an hour drive, and get there an hour before screenings start to get everything set up). This is the first year I'm taking part in the health screenings, but I imagine I'm going to be low on energy. So, I'm trying to get as much done for Le Bebe Nest as I can before all of that starts, since my first craft show is on June 11th! I'm quite excited for it. I've hit up target and got some cute tin buckets for displays (thanks 50% off Easter sale!) and hit up the dollar store for a table cloth and some other random items. I've also been mass producing items like wipey cases, onesies, blankets and onesies to get ready for the show. Items to be posted shortly on etsy!


YUMM...

<3 CW

Please forgive me

You'll have to forgive me. I'm still getting used to the routine of posting a blog weekly. Life just seems to go by so fast and before I know it the day has come and gone!I will say, it's quite a full time job running two small buisnesses. I couldn't imagine if I was overwhelmed with orders. I wouldn't know what to do! Oh wait, maybe I could find myself on one of those posts in "Quit Your Day Job" on etsy! ((Dreaming)).

It truly is a lot of work though, today I ordered the bakery boxes for The Baking Bar and made a template for the tag I'll be using- I still need to find a stamp to use for the tags... the shop I previously ordered from "On Your Mark" stamps is on vacation... figures! They have great products though. Check them out at onyourmarkstamps.etsy.com.

I also started preparing for my first craft show. I got a bright pink table cloth from the dollar store (love that) and an aluminum tub from Homegoods for a display. I still need to figure out how to hang my onesies.... I need some sort of vertical display. My brain is still working on this one!

Craft Show Information: Skippack Summertime Festival
                                         Saturday, June 11th 10am-5pm
                                         Victorian Carriage Shops located in Skippack, PA

I spent my afternoon trying to stock up on inventory for Le Bebe Nest... I started six onesies and two wipey cases. I still want to make more wipey cases, swaddlers, burp cloths and blankets. Perferrably before May when my work schedule gets super hectic. It's time for "biometrics" aka blood work and health tests for the 2,000 employees at work- coordinated and run pretty much by me myself and I.

I also looked into payvment on facebook... apparently that's an online storefront. I figured the more I get out there, the better my chances of actually having one of my shops take off :)

What to bake this week.... I have so many ideas, I have no clue where to start! I think I'll whip up some of my grandmother's whoopie pies :)

Meanwhile... my poor little Lillian Grace will still wait for her bath (I told her I would give her one today... but the day ran short).

It's been way too long...

I know, I know. I said I was taking a break for the month of January... and I'm just getting back into the swing of things in April! The house has consumed my life, more than I thought! I live for trips to home depot now... wondering what new project we can start. We have started many, let me tell you.

Things are finally settling down, not many projects left at this point- just things to buy!

One of the first rooms to be finished was my craft room. Do you remember the pictures from a few posts ago? Click back if you don't- check out my previous make-shift craft space.

Now... Check this out!

My haven. I love just coming in here to do random things... currently, before writitng my blog, I was planning the menu for next week. Don't give me too much credit... usually I do it on Fridays. I'm usually not this much of a planner! My first purchase for this room was the cabinet you see sitting in the corner. A craigslist find... $65 in Philadelphia. I painted it white, then sanded it down to show some wear. It's a gorgeous piece.. the glass is original... you can see the piting and all... love that!

Probably one of my most rewarding projects... at least in my craft room. This was a country bumpkin butcher block table that we found on craigslist for $50. We took off the legs and bought new ones from home depot- pub height, which I... brown washed? I found the color brown I needed, but wanted to show off the grain of the wood. So I painted the color on and then wiped it off right away. It worked swell! We (myself, my husband and my dad) then sanded down the table top and I white washed it. The side panels were originally white-washed to match the table. I wasn't impressed. I wish I could say the following brillantly creative idea was mine... but it was my husbands. He suggested covering the sides in fabric. AH! I knew I married him for good reason!

My sewing station.... still need to put some shelves in the space to the right in the closet. Yes... that's a closet. We took off the doors and I just put up a tension rod and curtains to cover the ugly track. That desk look familiar? It's the same one I used in the apartment for my sewing machine.. reuse and recycle! A big thank you to my big brother for running the electrial in the closet for my sewing machine!

Gingher scissors... a MUST HAVE for any avid sewer. They are my favorite. And, yes, I splurge and buy the limited edition ones because they're pretty. What can I say... I'm a girl!

A flea market find... this light is amazing... see the little light on the bottom? It's great for detail work and I can switch the lights on or off, depending on how much of the chandelier I want to utilize. I  just spray painted it silver to match the room- simple enough! Another thank you to my brother who ran the electrical work so that I could hang this. :)

I am in love with antique mason jars... did you know ones with the number "13" stamped on the bottom are very rare? Apparently, people were very superstitious in the old days and they would break them to avoid bad luck. I'm on a mission to find one...

My dad made me this great scrapbook paper station. I saw one in a magazine that was ridiculously priced- so I recruited my papa to make one from his wood pile. The slats the papers are on even pull out for ease of use!

That is my little love under the table... lillian grace. Isn't she too cute :o) Oh, and the chair... got it on clearence at IKEA- 60 bucks!

LOVE it :)

So, what's new in my life... well not much at the moment for normal, everyday things. The husband and I have decided to mix up our eating habits a bit... a flaw of mine is that I tend to eat the same thing... I think he was a little tired of eating similar meals every week :) So, once a week, we try a totally different meal. Last week we had goat cheese and asparagus pasta. I  never would have thought I like goat cheese, but, YUM. This week is beef tips with noodles.

Le Bebe Nest hasn't been keeping me too busy lately. I had a huge inventory of items for a bit, so I decided to stop creating and make some room in my storage space! I did liquidate a lot of inventory at a little vendor sale that my mother's work was holding. I've also signed up for my first craft show! It's this June in Skippack- the Summertyme Festival, to be specific. I'm pretty excited about that new endeavor.

I've also started a new etsy shop... The Baking Bar. It's quite a lot of fun, and I get to enjoy creating by doing the other thing I LOVE to do.  I love getting to try new recipes, as well as create my own. Not long ago I created the perfect peanut butter frosting. Uh... salivating just thinking about it. I could serioulsy eat it off a spoon- and I am not a huge icing fan. It's sweet- but not sicky sweet, and packs lots of peanut butter flavor! Hopefully one of my shops will become wildly successful and I can quit my day job :) Dreaming? Maybe... but that's what I like to do!

Well, that's all for now folk's... time to watch my DVR'd shows!

It's been a long time...

Moving into our new home has consumed most of my life these days... but things are just about situated so I'm back... and with another etsy shop!

I love Le BeBe Nest and everything it entails, but it's such a narrow group of cosumers that I reach- so I decided to use my other passion... baking as another etsy endeavor!

I started The Baking Bar this past week... check it out at http://www.thebakingbar.etsy.com/ :)

This is just a little update for now... I'll be back on Sunday or Monday with pictures of my new craft room! I can't wait to show it off. Such a great improvement from the island I used in our apartment. A big thank you to my husband who insisted that I use a spare bedroom for this space that's all my own. He is the greatest!

Be back on Sunday!