Vacation

Well, it's that time of year....we are headed out tomorrow for a vacation to Washington State! We are pretty excited! I won't be able to update the blog since we won't have internet connection for at least a week (if not more). We will be gone for about 2 1/2 weeks.

New Project

I found a new project (as if I need a new project). I found this headboard for FREE (can't get much better than that) I am working on sanding it down and then I will paint it white (like I have done with all of her furniture that we have gotten so far).

This project will not however get done before we leave on vacation in 2 days! I have a list of things that I need to get done before we leave one big thing is laundry and packing.

recycling old books

I just recently found a website on how to recycle old books. It's a great idea and VERY cute! Doesn't look to hard to do either. I'm thinking this will have to go on my "to do list" (now that I am finished with making A's cloth diapers for a bit). I can work on making some of these as gifts. How hard is it to find used books at a thrift store?!?! NOT VERY and THEY'RE CHEAP!! So here's a link to the tutorial and some pictures:

Link: http://www.curbly.com/Chrisjob/posts/4164-Curbly-Video-Podcast-How-to-Make-a-Handbag-out-of-a-Recycled-Book-

Pictures:

Sewing Saturday

Well I finally finished some more cloth diapers!

These are the two I mentioned in last weeks thread that I did not have pictures of (the two diapers don't look good together colorwise, it's a good thing A only wears them one at a time). I got both fabrics for really cheap (the blue free and the yellow from a garage sale that was pack a back of cloth for $1).


I also made some more cloth diapers this week. I have 2 finished and 1 almost finished (red stripes) I need to finish sewing the velcro on (I ran out of thread). This was also fairly cheap fabric (yellow 1 yrd for $2 at Walmart and the red stripes was an old shirt of mine). I have finally worked with the pattern enough that I found a fit I really like. I really like the skinnier tabs as opposed to the large ones in the above diapers). I also like using only one layer of t-shirt in the center and a microfiber towel as opposed to using 2 layers of t-shirt and microfiber towel (it seems to dry on laundry day faster). :)


I just purchased some more flannel from walmart for $1 a yard (that is a steal as it is usually $2.97). I was looking at all the flannel material and it was mixed in with the rest. It is white w/ blue pin stripes. However I just got on a website last night and found some cloth diapers brand new for really cheap ($8) which is pretty cheap for an AIO (no cover needed). I purchased three of them so it looks like I may have enough cloth diapers for now, so I am going to put my cloth diaper sewing aside and work on some other things. I will save the flannel for next time around.

And last but not least...I finished the car organizer. It turned out pretty good. I had to vamp the pattern a bit b/c I found out our headrests in our car don't come out so I will use elastic and just put it on the seat that way. This went together really quick and was super easy. My only problem was that when I sewed the top pocket on I didn't pay attention to well and it ended up being kind of crooked but it will still work and since we are leaving in 4 days I've decided to just leave it and fix it when we come back.

Recipe Tuesday

My mother-in-laws lasagna!!! Definitely worth ***** (5 starts). Many people think that lasagna is hard to make...it's NOT if I can make it so can you! It is however kind of time consuming (unless you cut corners, like using the lasagna noodles that you just bake, you know the ones you don't have to boil...but someone in our house doesn't care for those kind of noodles so I boil mine).


Here's the how to make the sauce..
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic (I used minced garlic that you refrigerate)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tbs basil
2 cans (15 0z) tomatoes
2 small cans of tomato paste

Brown the meat, drain the greese, add rest of ingredients simmer for 30-45 min.

Cheese Mixture:
2 eggs (beat)
24 ounces cottage cheese (I use this instead of ricotta b/c it is a lot cheaper)
2 tbs parsley
1/2 cup parmesean cheese (grated)

Mix all these ingredients together (set aside)

Boil 9 lasagna noodles

Now for the layering:

In a 9x13 (or 2 9x9 you will just have to cut the noddles in half) put a little bit of the sauce at the bottom of the glass dish to help noodles not to stick, then place 3 noodles in the bottom spread 1/2 of the sauce on top of the noodles, then layer 1/2 of the cheese mixture on that, then place 3 noodles on top of that, then the sauce, then again with the cheese mixture, and then add the last 3 noodles on top of that. Then add shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese on top of that.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.


NOTE: You can also freeze this, just put it altogether (I do not add the shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese until I'm ready to bake it) place saran wrap over the top and then the lid and keep it in the freezer. One good idea is to double the recipe make one big one for your family and 2 small ones (9x9) freeze the 2 small ones and then you have either a quick meal for yourself or if there is a someone that is in need of a meal you pop it out of the freezer and take a bag of mixed shredded cheese to that person.

Here's a picture of A enjoying some of the Lasagna!!