{diy growth ruler}

So I know I said that I was going to do a whole big blog post with tutorials when we finished our new apartment's makeover but I think I'll just post tutorials as I finish them : )

Today I finished making Anders a growth ruler! I have seen these for sale on Etsy for $50 plus $15+ shipping. Whoa! But I really love them! Therefore I decided make it myself.

Here's what you need:

- a plank of wood; I used a board that was 9in x 6ft x 1in - $6
- stain - already had some but you can get it @ Lowe's $6
- paint brush - already had one but you can get one for $3 @ Lowe's
- vinyl or black paint - $7.80
- measuring tape
- picture hanging hardware - $1.50

Total for Me: $15.30      Total if you don't have everything: $24.30

I went to Lowe's and got a 9in x 6ft x 1in plank of wood. I am not sure what type of wood I just looked for the cheapest one : ) But make sure it is pretty straight and lies flats! When you hang it up you want it to lay flat along the wall. You'll also need to pick out a stain you like and a paint brush. This is the stain that I used. I only did one coat and it was the perfect color.

In a well ventilated area stain the wood (I only did the front and sides since no one will see the back) and let it dry. I let mine dry for a couple days.

Next you will mark the inch and foot marks on the board. I am fairly certain my children will be over 6 foot tall as their father is 6'5" and I'm no shorty either. That being said I wanted my ruler to reach at least 6'5". So I decided to have my board hang 9 inches above the floor; which would allow my board to reach a height of 6'8". Find what works for you! After you figure out what inch you want your ruler to start on take a measuring tape and lay it along the edge of the board and with a Sharpie mark each inch and foot marks. Like so.

This next step requires choosing whether you want to use vinyl or black paint or Sharpie. I chose vinyl because I don't trust my painting skills and the Sharpie doesn't look as good in my opinion. I had some black vinyl already that I cut the dashes out of. My inch dashes are 1 inch long and 1/4 inch thick and my foot dashes are 3 inches long and 1/4 inch thick. Then on Etsy I found a lady that makes vinyl numbers 1-6 that are 4 inches tall. So I ordered them for $7.79. Here's the link. She has a lot of other cute vinyl wall decals too! I just ordered a bunch from her....you'll see them in our new apartment! Anyway, next you will lay the vinyl dashes over your marks you made with the Sharpie and press them down really good. Then I decided to put my numbers in front of the foot dash mark but you can put them where ever you want. 

The last step is to add hanging hardware. I haven't decided which to use yet but both will work!

               

Here is the finished product! I LOVE it and I can't wait to show you what I have planned for this!

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{best cafe rio sweet pork salad copycat recipe}

I have been meaning to try this copycat Cafe Rio recipe since I pinned it over a year ago. Friday night I finally did it! Lots of work but so worth it! Here is a link to the whole Sweet Pork salad/burrito recipe courtesy of Favorite Family Recipes.

It tastes just like the real deal. I found a really good deal on pork ($0.99/lb) so I bought 7 pounds (recipe only calls for 2). But I thought that since I was going to be going through all the work might as well make lots. I get the "If some is good, more is better" mentally from my husband. : ) So I tripled all of her recipes. I am so glad I did. We invited two couples over to join in the feast. Even then we had so much left over! I played in a soccer game that night and was starving again after so I made myself another huge sweet pork salad. Then Saturday Garett and I had it for lunch. And there is still enough left for at least two more sweet pork salads after church tomorrow! It has been an awesome weekend. What's better than Cafe Rio everyday?! Not much.

A Few Suggestions:

- I would suggest making the salad dressing the night before you want to use it. I am finding that the longer it sits the better it tastes.
- Let the pork sit in the marinade for as long as possible too!
- Lastly, like the ladies at Favorite Family Recipes say you have to get the aluminum foil bowls for the full effect. They said they got theirs at a grocery store but all the grocery stores I went to wanted an arm and a leg for them....weird I know. But I found them at the dollar store!!! A pack of 3 for a buck (they even came with the to-go lids!). Swa-eet!

My favorite part is the cilantro-lime vinaigrette! I still have over half a mason jar left! Can you say delicious salads?! 

I think I used every dish I own....twice! This is only a small portion of the mess. But again, it was so worth it!

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{awesome cupcake frosting}

Want the best cupcake frosting I have ever used?! Check out this link. It is delicious (tastes kind of like marshmallow creme), easy to make and looks so good. Below is a picture of some cupcakes I made for a baby shower. I tinted the frosting blue and printed out a bunch of "Oh Boy!"s and used my cloud punch to punch them out. I think they add a nice simple touch. I have pictures of other cupcakes with this frosting that I'll post as soon as I find them...I think they are on my old phone :-)

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{moving}

Important tips to follow when moving.

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{super easy & flattering skirt tutorial}

I love stretchy skirts! Not only are they extremely comfortable they are also really easy and cheap to make.

Materials:

- 1/2 to 1 yard of stretchy knit material (depending on the length you want)

- 1/2 to 1 yard stretchy knit material for lining (optional; I was able to read a newspaper through my fabric!)

- Matching thread

- 3 inch elastic (sold in a 2 yard pack @ Joann's for $3.50; enough make a couple skirts!)

Knit fabric ranges from $5.99 to $14.99/yard depending on the brand and design. The cuter the print the more expensive it tends to be. This is why I love remnant piles! I hoard remnants like crazy! Most fabric stores sell their remnants for 50% off. The black ruffle material I'm using in this tutorial was a remnant. It was just under a yard and I got it for $5. Since I did a knee length skirt I still have enough leftover material to make another one if I want. 

 1. Grab the elastic and put it around your waist where you want the skirt to sit. Make sure you pull it a little snug so the elastic is tight when you wear the skirt. Cut off the excess elastic and sew  the two ends together with a straight stitch about a 1/4 inch from the edge. I also took some anti-fray liquid and ran it along the edge.

 2. Next I took both my materials, laid them out, lined them up and pinned the edges. (I didn't want my lining to go all the way to the bottom of my skirt so I brought it up a couple of inches.) If your fabric is thick enough you don't need a lining so you can skip this step.

3. Then fold your materials in half and line up your elastic band with top of the folded material. I have about 2 inches of extra material. Just trim off any extra material in a straight line down to the bottom. 

***If you are wider at the hips or in the thigh region you can cut a curved line from the waist to the bottom of the skirt. So it curves out around the hip and thigh area and gives you a little more room.

 4. Next pin the right sides of the material together and now you are ready to sew up the side! I did a baste stitch first because if you try and do a zigzag stitch first on stretchy fabric it bunches up all weird. At least it has for me. After the baste stitch follow with a zigzag stitch that also has straight stitches....not sure what it's called. Haha.

5. Pin the right side of elastic band to the right side of the material and do the same zigzag stitch that you did to sew up the skirt.

Viola! You are done!!!

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{diy laundry detergent}

I found this tutorial on Pinterest and I love it! It seriously makes a lot for only about $20. For the tutorial click here. "How Does She?" is an awesome blog!

I omitted the fabric softening crystals because Wal-Mart didn't have them...weird. But I had a Costco sized tub of softener to finish up anyway. Maybe if I find the crystals I'll mix them in one day... 

So I made this back in December and this is all I have used so far and I do an average of 4 loads/week. Each load only takes 2 tablespoons. I think it works great. Oh yeah this isn't all of my supply! I still have three containers worth of this stuff! It is awesome. I also kept the ends of the Fels-Naptha bars that I couldn't grate down any more and pre-treat stains with them.

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{diy wedding gift ideas)

What do you get for an aunt that is getting married who has everything already? Hmmmm....sounds like time to do a little research on Pinterest! My mom and I decided to make His and Her aprons because they like to cook and a framed message board. Here was our inspiration (click on pic for pin):

I wish I had thought to take pictures of the aprons and message board before we wrapped them because they were way cute! For the message board we took a pretty 8x10 frame and put this beautiful scrapbook paper with "p.s. I love you" printed towards the bottom. Then we hot glued some fabric flowers to the corner like in the picture. 

Who ever started the whole using a picture frame as a dry erase board fad was a genius. You can use them for anything! About six months ago I made these little beauties. I love fun colors, stripes and polka dots for my kitchen. 

My mom made me the calendar last year for Christmas!

I loved this idea from Pinterest! I just check off and date when I complete something.

Helps me remember what the heck I'm suppose to do!

This is my Insanity Program workout schedule. Since I just completed that I am wondering
what else I should put in this frame?

So many things you can do with pictures frames! That's why I have an obsession with them. I have about a hundred different black frames. A lot you will see in my family room make over!

Anyway back to DIY wedding gifts. Another one that would be super cute is the Scrabble magnetic board! I have two and I love them! My mom and Garett both made me one for Christmas without knowing it haha. We have one by our kitchen covering up the circuit box. Everyone plays with that one. And then we have one in our bedroom for us to write messages on : )

The one Garett made me!

The one my mom made me!

One day I might Modge Podge some cute paper onto it but I kind of like the metal. But I think this would be a fun and unique gift and it is inexpensive. Find a frame at a thrift store ($5 or so) and paint it whatever color you want and go to Lowe's and they will cut the sheet metal ($8) to whatever size your frame is. I find Scrabble games at thrift stores too. They are pretty popular since Pinterest so whenever I see one I grab it! I got one the other day for $1.50. Or if you are like my family we already had two Scrabble games and just used those. Then all you have to do is get that magnetic tape from a craft store (no more than $3) and you are set!

After we finished the gift for my aunt we needed a card. I wanted something a little more personal than a store bought card so I decided to make one. I had pinned one I like so I used that for inspiration. 

Pinterest Inspiration

My creation

Supplies for Wedding Card
blank card or card stock
black and white card stock
pretty paper for dress
letter stickers
semi thick double sided tape
embellishments - I used pearl stickers and flower brads both can be found at any craft store

1. To make the card I used a blank cream card that I already had (or you could use card stock to make your own base card). I chose cream so the neck of the bride would be skin color.
2. Cover half of the front of the card with the black card stock. Cut out an elongated diamond shape out of the white card stock for the white shirt. Glue it on so it sticks out above the base card like in the picture. Then cut out the jacket lapels. (Sorry I just eyeballed these and the shirt pieces so I don't have a template, but it is really easy to do!) I used the thick double sided tape to attach these to the card so they would stand out. Also cut out two little triangles for the bow tie and glue them on. Lastly, add the embellishments. When I did the flower I poked the card with a push pin first because the brad wasn't sharp enough to go through all the card stock.
3. Now the bride side. Again I just eyeballed the dress. I drew it on the paper and then cut it. You can have fun with this and do whatever shape you want! I just wanted a dress shape big enough at the bottom so I could use the black stickers. Glue the dress on and then add the embellishments.
4. Now you can put anything you want on the card. Initially I was going to spell out LOVE but I had enough letters to do the Mr. & Mrs. so I went with that! The possibilities are endless!
5. On the inside to hide the brads you can glue in cute paper or a photo or whatever you want.
 
Homemade gifts are awesome! If I know the recipient well I will do a homemade gift, because I know they will appreciate it. If I don't know the person that well I honestly don't want to waste my time on something they may not even like, so I stick to their registry.

I got some homemade gifts for my wedding and I loved them! Here is one that I absolutely adore and it's on my wall right now! It's made out of a cabinet door! Awesome!

I didn't make it but I can tell you how to make it! 

1. The base is a cabinet door! You could find one at any hardware store or if you can score one at a thrift store that would be cheaper. I have also heard of people finding them for cheap in the "As Is" section at Ikea. 

2. Paint the cabinet whatever color you want. 

3. For the picture you could do any picture you desire or if you want to spell something get creative and find the letters in everyday things around you. I also know that Hobby Lobby has picture letters both in color and black and white. 

4. Sand the area you want to put the pictures with a medium-grit paper. It will help the paper stick to the wood better! 

5. Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to the sanded area. While that dries apply a thin layer to the back of the photos. 

6. Once the Mod Podge on the wood is dry to the touch lay the photos where you want them and smooth them out using either you hand or a flat edge for a couple of minutes. Work from the center to the edges. 

7. Allow the glue to fully dry for 2-3 hours then apply a a thin layer of Mod Podge to the surface of the photos. Let dry 3-4 hours then apply another coat and let it dry over night.

8. Lastly, find a sweet decorative knob! Hobby Lobby has a lot and they are always 50% off!   

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{family room make over}

We are very blessed to live in the apartment we live in! Garett and I manage apartments for my aunt and in exchange for that work we get to live in one of her fully furnished apartments. Such a blessing in our lives right now. However, I was tired of my dark decor in the family room. I needed to lighten it up. Below are the before pictures. No, my Christmas decorations are not still up haha. I took these at the beginning of the month : )

It doesn't look super dark in the pictures but that is because every light in the house is on haha. I am just tired of the reds and blues and solid colors. I want something cute and I would like more patterns too.  My budget is around $75 dollars. I have already started collecting new decor and finished a couple projects. I would love to paint but that is not in the budget and we are just renting. It is already starting to look so much better and brighter. As soon as I finish I will post new pictures and include the tutorials I used for my projects. So excited!

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{homemade baby food}

Andersen is 7 months old today! Holy cow this little man is growing up way too fast! Here's a progress report. He sits up by himself and can stay sitting up until he decides to face plant. Last time we weighed him (a couple weeks ago) he was 18.5 lbs. He is on the verge of crawling; he scoots around pretty well. He loves real food! He eats apples, bananas (his favorite), avocados, cauliflower and sweet potatoes. 

     

The money savvy side of me must write about homemade baby food! If you have the time homemade is the way to go. Not only do you know what exactly is in your baby's food but it is also so much cheaper. I was at Wal-Mart the other day and I saw that you could buy 8 oz. of baby food for $0.81. That seems pretty cheap right? But compare that to the 160 oz. of avocados, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and bananas for $5.50. That's $0.10/oz versus $0.03/oz. You save over 50% if you make your own food! It only took me one nap time to make all that food so it's not that time consuming.

Here's my method for making delicious baby food. I have a Baby Bullet, which I use when I am making small quantities. But when I am making a bunch I use my Ninja Blender. Any food processor will work. After I have made the food I pour the purees into ice cube trays. Once they have frozen I pop them out and store them in freezer ziplocks with the date made on them. I stole this idea from Pinterest and I love it. If I want to combine foods for a meal I just grab one of each cube and let them thaw out together. Anders' favorite combo is apples and bananas. Below I wrote out some recipes I use.

Sweet Potatoes
3-4 sweet potatoes
rice cereal
water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wrap the potatoes in foil and stick them in the oven for about 40-45 minutes. (After they are in the oven I make the rest of the baby food.) When they are tender to the touch they are done. Let them cool. Once you can touch them, unwrap them and pull the peel off at one end and squeeze out the potato. It should squeeze right out into the blender. Once the potatoes are in the blender I put in about a cup of rice cereal and blend it. If your baby is between 4-6 months you will want to thin out the puree; just add water until it reaches the consistency you want. The older your baby gets the thicker your puree can be.

Avocados
3-4 avocados
rice cereal
lemon juice
water

Cut each avocado in half and remove the pit. Scrape out the good stuff into the blender. Add 1/2 cup of rice cereal and blend. Squirt some lemon juice into the mixture to keep the puree turning a gross brown. Add water to reach desired consistency.

Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower
rice cereal
water

Cut the cauliflower up and steam it (I use the steamer bags....so easy). Put in blender and add 1 cup rice cereal and blend. Add water to reach desired consistency.

Bananas
5-6 bananas
oatmeal
water

Peel, put in blender, add 1 cup oatmeal (I use the boxed baby oatmeal; you can grind down regular oatmeal if you want) and blend. Squirt some lemon juice into the mixture to keep the puree turning a gross brown. Add water to reach desired consistency.

**I just buy all natural, no sugar added applesauce for Anders. It is cheap and so much easier than making it from scratch.

Anyway back to talking about Andersen! Lately, his new favorite toy is the diaper box. It keeps him so entertained I love it! So today we played with the box, took two naps (hallelujah!), snuggled, and took a lot of pictures!

Face Plant!

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