Top Posts of 2011

I can't believe there's only one more day of 2011, but I'm so looking forward to 2012 and the blessings I know it will bring!! Here are the most popular posts of the year in case you missed them:

4. Skirt from a Sheet

3. Wisdom from Charles and Caroline Ingalls

2. What Do You Do with Your Eggshells?

and the #1 post of 2011 is.....

1. Easy Fleece Tube Scarf Tutorial

Do you have a favorite post from 2011?

What was the most popular post on your blog?

I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year!!

Sweet Southern Cornbread

These are the best cornbread muffins I've ever tasted!! I usually don't like cornbread because it tends to be dry, but these are like moist, sweet corn cupcakes or something. :) Here's the recipe in case you wanna try 'em for yourself:

Sweet Southern Cornbread

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c honey

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c flour

3/4 c cornmeal

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 c milk

1/2 can corn

Cream butter and sugar for 1 minute.

Add honey, eggs, and salt. Cream 1 minute.

Add flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. Mix well.

Add milk and corn. Mix until just combined.

Pour into greased muffin tin. Makes 16.

Bake at 350 for 25 min or until fork comes out clean. 

YUM YUM YUM!!! I've eaten four so far and I'm seriously contemplating a fifth…

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A Tip

So if your going "no poo" and you have wavy hair AND your in the transition stage, don't, I repeat don't put coconut oil in your hair! The results are what you would expect: oily hair. I did this today thinking it would add shine and definition to my waves, but I shouldn't have. I guess I'm gonna have to wash it two days in a row which I don't like because I'm going for low maintenance here. I can't wait for the day that I only need to wash once a week. Is this strange? Either way, I had to put my hair up today which I normally don't do and I thought I'd show you what I did. I know this isn't new, but I've never done it before and I think it's cute:

How do you do your hair on umm...not so pretty hair days?

No Shampoo: Week 1

Have you heard of or tried the "no poo" method? Basically it's where you stop using shampoo (because it strips your hair of natural oils, frizzes it and is filled with chemicals) and you use baking soda and apple cider vinegar in it's place. Sound crazy? Maybe it is, but I've been poo free for nine days now and the "transition period" hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. Here's what my hair looks like today:

I've been using 1 tbsp baking soda dissolved in 1 cup warm water and then 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar in 1 cup warm water every other day. Basically you just pour the baking soda mixture on your roots, scrub and rinse, then repeat with the vinegar on your ends. Once you go "poo free" your hair will go through a transition period where it's still overproducing oil because it's used to shampoo stripping it all of the time. I was only washing my hair every three days before I started so hopefully my transition will be easier. The baking soda has been pretty effective in soaking up the excess oil. It does feel a little bit greasier and heavier than normal, but not really too much. Supposedly your hair gets curlier and fuller once your completely poo free. I hope that's true!! I'll try to post an update every week or so.

Have you heard of or tried the no poo method?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!


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Holiday Update

Sorry I've been MIA over the holiday weekend, but we've been busy celebrating and traveling. We're home now and Mike is off for a few days! Yay! The plan is to take down the Christmas decor and then work on setting up the nursery (which is going to take a lot of creative "rearranging").

How was every one's Christmas? I had a wonderful time with family and guess what I got? A CANNER! I'm so excited to be able to actually can now!! It might be tricky gardening this year with a newborn, but I figure my ancestors did it so why can't I? Plus, Mike said he would help. Yay!!

Happy Holidays everyone!!

Little Girl's Superhero Cape

So this has to be my favorite gift to give this year! My three year old niece will tie any kind of blanket, apron, fabric, etc around her neck and pretend she's superman, so of course I had to make her, her very own superhero cape!! Complete with ruffles and all!!

I LOVE IT!! It turned out exactly as I had envisioned (which doesn't always happen around here). This was my last gift to make so I'm officially ready for Christmas!

What do you think? Have you been busy making gifts too?

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My Memories Giveaway Winner

A big thank you to everyone who entered!!

Are you ready to hear who won?

*MissLys*

Congratulations!! Please send me your e-mail address and I will get you your code as soon as I can and happy scrapbooking!!

If you didn't win, remember you can still use the discount code STMMMS10106 to receive $10 off of the software and $10 off in the scrapbook store!! (This is a separate code you will receive by e-mail once you've  purchased the software.) That's a $50 value for only $30!!

New Items in Shop!!

I just added some really cute placemat clutches to my Etsy shop. 

Check them out:

Also, a trio of vintage hand painted flowers. Very unique:

Eco Friendly Packaging

I decided that I wanted to begin going a more natural and eco friendly route when wrapping packages this year. Therefore, I've been collecting brown paper, twine, vintage ribbon and vintage wrapping paper from thrift stores for a few months now. I've also got some recycled newspaper held back for later use. I'm not completely switched over yet because I'm still using up what I have left from last year. 

 I like the effect so far! I also like wrapping (where possible) without a box because it looks more old fashioned that way. Below is some of the vintage paper I bought from the thrift store for something like .10:

What do you think? 
Do you ever shop thrift stores for you wrapping paper? 


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Nursery Inspiration

Here's my vision for the nursery:

*I apologize that I don't have photo credits. I've been collecting these for awhile and don't remember where they all came from. If one of these is yours let me know and I will add a credit or remove it per your request.

We're going with a vintage airplane/Americana theme. 

What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

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My Memories Digital Scrapbook GIVEAWAY!!

*This giveaway is now closed. The winner will be announced soon.

Have you heard of the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software? It's a really awesome program that allows you to do all of your scrapbooking on the computer! I've been playing around with it and made this really cute calendar page:

The possibilities are endless with this software! You could make scrapbooks, calendars, invitations, Christmas cards, etc. I've been thinking about designing a baby shower invitation using it, which would save me lots of money. It's really easy to use and they have a lot of predesigned albums that you can just add pictures too and your done!

My Memories also offers digital scrapbook packs that you can purchase or they have a large selection of free packs as well. Here are a few of my favorite FREE downloads:

How cute are all of these? And they're absolutely FREE!! They also have an extensive selection of packs you can purchase ranging from baby to wedding to vacation to birthdays to practically anything you can think of! If your a big scrapbooker, this software could potentially save you lots of time, mess, and money. Also its compatible for both Pc's and Mac's.

Okay so are you ready for the exciting part?? My Memories has generously offered to give away this software for free to one of my readers!! All you have to do to enter is visit My Memories and come back and leave a comment telling me which scrapbook pack is your favorite. For additional entries you can either follow my blog or follow me on twitter. You will need to leave a separate comment for each additional entry. On Wednesday December 21st after 5pm central time I will pick a winner!!

But wait, that's not all My Memories has also offered a discount code to my readers for $10 off the software and $10 off the scrapbook store! (the scrapbook store discount will be another code e-mailed to you once you've purchased the software.) All you have to do to redeem this discount is use the code STMMMS10106 at checkout.

I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks!!

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Crocheted Cowl

Okay, I have to admit, this crochet thing is addicting. Does anyone else agree? I've been knitting and crocheting a big pile of gifts for people this year. Since I can't post those just yet, here's a project that I finished for myself: a cowl! 

I crocheted it lengthwise which I think makes it look more even and finished. What do you think? It would be cute a little shorter or longer so you could double it around your neck. Oh the possibilities!

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Breastfeeding

As I was reading The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding,

 this quote caught my attention:

"The newborn baby has only three demands. 

They are warmth in the arms of its mother, 

food from her breasts, and security

 in the knowledge of her presence. 

Breastfeeding satisfies all three."

-Dr Grantly Dick-Read

My Weekly Memory Verse

My husband and I are going to start our weekly memorizing this week. 

For our first verse we picked Isaiah 9:6:

"For unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

-Isaiah 9:6

For this to work I need to keep the verse in my mind all day and put it up in a place that I visit frequently. So where did I put my verse? Above my kitchen sink. :) A place where I spend lots of time! 

Where would be the best place for you to put a memory verse?