Spring Skirt

Happy Monday Everyone! 

This past week I have been thinking about friendship and how friendships grow and change. I often write about how lucky I am to have all of my wonderful friends.

I was spending time with a new(ish) friend last night. (We have just started hanging out outside of work.) I, of course, was bragging about all of our mutual work friends when I realized that I have known/worked with/drank a few too many beers with/LOVED some of these women for five years. FIVE.

I decided that I should no longer consider them new friends.

I have been lucky to have a lot of different types of friends throughout my life. Friends that I have known my entire life, friends that came into my life for just a season. Friends that I was SURE that no matter what happened, we would always be close, only to realize that time and distance have separated us. And friends that I thought were just "seasonal" friends who I've come to love as long time friends.

In thinking about all of this, I realized that there is a WHOLE other class of friends that you can only hope to be lucky enough to have. The friends that become family. 

These people are the people who you no longer choose to have in your life, they just are. The friends that you no longer worry about keeping in touch with, because you know that you could no more stop talking to them than you could your sister, aunt, cousin, or mother.

These are the people who help your husband pick out your engagement ring. The people who ask for your permission to marry your best friend. The people who become ordained to marry you, come to your sister's wedding, visit you in the hospital, go to your grandparent's funerals, adopt your friends and family as theirs.

They are the people in your life that want you in the hospital when their children are born. Whose children think of you as aunt and who you have loved since the day they were born.

I have two of these friends, Haley and Maggie. 

Maggie is married to Mike and they have Grace. Maggie is pregnant with babies two AND three right now. Maggie's having twin girls.

Jeremy and I went out to see everyone yesterday. We had a great time basking in the mundane, as only lifetime friends can. We went out to eat, went to Target to run some errands, and played with Grace. 

In just a few short weeks, Maggie will bring two more little lives into the world. I'll be there, in the waiting room, wringing my hands and anxiously waiting to meet the two newest members of my "family".

In the meantime, here's a look at my new spring skirt.

I modified the pattern shown below.

And here's a look at the finished product.

Don't mind Mosby in the background. Now that's it's nice out, he spends all of his time looking for dogs.

And now, a quick update on my 27 list. I have been making good progress.

1. Finish changing my name on all documents. (I sort of stalled mid-change)-some progress MORE has been made
2. Write four three two one more blog posts featuring a craft.
3. Finish a knitting project for a friend's new edition. 
4. Run 27 22.5 14 6 miles.
5. Update information for my Illinois teaching certificate. -some progress has been made
6. Four three two one weekly visits to the dog park with Mosby.
7. Use a new pattern to make a fun Spring skirt for myself.
8. Clean out my (and Jeremy's) closets.
9. Donate items to Goodwill.
10. Try one new food. DISASTER! I tried a chicken foot. It was HORRIBLE.

11. Call Haley.(Hal, hopefully this weekend!!)
12. Do some landscaping on the back patio. (Even though we rent, it's nice to maintain for guests.)
13. Purchase the graduation gift I've been eyeing for a certain grad.
14. Catch up on Mad Men.
15. Visit Maggie (and Michael and Grace).
16. Organize my craft room.
17. Purchase a few needed items for our home (including a new pillow for Jer).
18. Take one instagram photo a day. So far, so good.
19. INSIST that I watch Sofia while my sister and Tony go out on a date. 
20. Formally introduce Jeremy to Moscow Mules. (I mentioned them here.)
21. Ask for a recommandation, buy, and listen to an album of a new band. (Feel free to leave me a comment with a recommandation!)  Thanks, Lizzy, for recommending The Civil Wars. They are awesome.
22. See The Godfather. 
23. Call my Gram.
24. Finish The Paris Wife. SO GOOD! 
25. Change my blog heading. 
26. Start our honeymoon photo album.
27. One random act of kindness.

Until next time, keep crafting.

SB

Stuffed Friends

Hi all.

First and foremost, I want to extend Jeremy and my thoughts and prayers to everyone in Boston. Our good friend, Nicolle, is out there right now running her first Boston Marathon, and we are so relieved to report that she and her husband, Vince, are safe.

Jeremy's birthday was a couple weeks ago. Jeremy and I have a few birthday traditions we love. We always give each other a gift (more on that in a minute).

We also always take advantage of living in Chicago, which, in our opinion, has some of the best restaurants in the country. We treat ourselves to a nice meal at a restaurant that we can't afford to go to everyday.

Being total food dorks, we COMPLETELY geek out over Top Chef, a TV cooking competition featuring up and coming chefs. Chicago is home to a lot of these chefs, including Heather Turhune, the chef at Sable. We had great food, great drinks, and a great time celebrating there.

So, back to Jeremy's gift. Jeremy (and I) are big fans of a new group called Of Monsters and Men. They are kind of indy folk/pop rock type band from Iceland. They are coming to Chicago in May. I jumped at the chance to get tickets to the show.

So, Jeremy's gift was decided. But, I hate giving just pieces of paper, so I wanted to do something a little more creative.

I decided to give Jeremy two clues. He had written instructions to open the first at breakfast and the second at lunch. If he couldn't guess by dinner, I would tell him what the gift was.

Luckily, a band by the name Of Monsters and Men lends itself well to being creative. 

I decided to make Jeremy little stuffed animals. One of a monster, and one of a man.

It should be noted. I made these stuffed animals assuming that we would just give them to Mosby (to destroy) after Jeremy got them as clues. They would have been cuter, with more details and probably some buttons had I known Jeremy would keep them.

Anyway, the process was actually pretty simple. I started by googling and printing off coloring pages in the shape of a monster and of a man.

I cut them out and used them as patterns for the stuffed animals. I used left over fleece to make the bodies. I cut out two of each, one for the back and one for the front.

 I used embroidery floss and more fleece to make the faces.

I turned put the "wrong-sides" together and sewed them up, leaving just a little opening to flip them right side out and stuff them.

Then came the stuffing and hand sewing.

Jeremy ended up guessing his gift correctly right after breakfast (after receiving the monster). I played it off until lunch, when he opened up the man.

He was really excited about the concert. He also decided to keep the little friends at the office for company.

And now a quick update on my "27 List". I crossed out what has already been done and used italics to show progress or changing in quantity for my works in progress. 

1. Finish changing my name on all documents. (I sort of stalled mid-change)-some progress has been made
2. Write four three more blog posts featuring a craft.
3. Finish a knitting project for a friend's new edition. done
4. Run 27 22.5 miles.
5. Update information for my Illinois teaching certificate.
6. Four three weekly visits to the dog park with Mosby.
7. Use a new pattern to make a fun Spring skirt for myself.
8. Clean out my (and Jeremy's) closets.
9. Donate items to Goodwill.
10. Try one new food.
11. Call Haley.(Hal, hopefully this weekend!!)
12. Do some landscaping on the back patio. (Even though rent, it's nice to maintain for guests.)
13. Purchase the graduation gift I've been eyeing for a certain grad. Purchased, came today, just need to send it out.
14. Catch up on Mad Men.
15. Visit Maggie (and Michael and Grace).
16. Organize my craft room.
17. Purchase a few needed items for our home (including a new pillow for Jer).
18. Take one instagram photo a day. So far, so good.
19. INSIST that I watch Sofia while my sister and Tony go out on a date. We have the date set.
20. Formal introduce Jeremy to Moscow Mules. (I mentioned them here.)
21. Ask for a recommandation, buy, and listen to an album of a new band. (Feel free to leave me a comment with a recommandation!)  Thanks, Lizzy, for recommending The Civil Wars. They are awesome.
22. See The Godfather. 
23. Call my Gram. I called her, but she was out. 
24. Finish The Paris Wife. Getting close.
25. Change my blog heading. 
26. Start our honeymoon photo album.
27. One random act of kindness.

Until next time, keep crafting.

SB

Love: Easy Blanket and Pillow

During the month of February, I've decided to create a series of posts based on the different real life love stories that inspire me. I'll be featuring friends and family, and their different types of love.

In keeping with my February theme if love, my month has been filled to the brim with loved ones. Here's my post from this week, LAST week's is coming soon.

Jeremy has two sisters. When we first started dating, they both lived far. Now Michelle's family lives near, by Jeremy's parents. Liz's family lives far, in Houston. Since we went to see Liz's family over the (long) weekend, this week, I want to write about my love for my "other" family (Jeremy's side) and especially Liz's cute little family's love for each other.

We got into Houston on Thursday night. Liz came to get us, and besides a sleepy, beaming Ava who woke when we got to the house, we had to wait to see everyone else until Friday.

Geoff had to go into work, and Jacob had school, so we were left to hang out with the ladies of the family. Ava is four years old, and she led the way. We did a lot of walking/bike riding, swinging, picking flowers, painting nails, and looking for turtles and, as Ava puts it, crocodiles (alligators). Ava gave us a tour of their house, looked at our shoes and bathing suits, and tried on most of my jewelry. It was a very enjoyable day.

When Jacob and Geoff returned, we went to a Mexican restaurant nearby and began Jacob's 7th birthday celebration with a bang! (Actually a huge brownie volcano with a huge sparkler.)

Liz is reading Harry Potter to Jacob, which I LOVE. Jeremy and Ava also enjoyed being read to. 

On Saturday morning, we took off for San Antonio. There was lots of backseat fun and hotel room cuddles.

We also snuck in sometime at the Riverwalk.

  
And the Alamo.

Sunday was Jacob's actual birthday. We let him decide between exploring caverns or going on an "Africian Safari". He chose the safari, and we were off!

We were headed through Texas hill country, and the adults decided that we should stop at a wine tasting or two (the kids weren't as thrilled about this idea, but were good sports).

Liz and Geoff know Jeremy and I well, so our last stop of the day was The Salt Lick, an awesome (and famous) BBQ joint right outside of Austin. We had fun sampling wine and playing on the playground while waiting for our table.

We ate and celebrated Jacob's birthday. It was delicious and the company couldn't have been better.

Geoff got us home safe and sound. We spent Monday opening Jacob's gifts, taking Jacob shopping for our gift (a mini shopping spree at Target), and enjoying each other's company.

Jeremy and I headed home yesterday. We had such a wonderful time and enjoyed watching the love of this cute little family.

And now, the craft that goes with the trip.

At Christmas, I made Ava and Jacob blankets and pillows. It was fun to see that Jacob uses his on his bed, and they both brought them to San Antonio with them. You can see glimpses of them on the hotel bed and in the car.

These were seriously easy and fun to make. They make a great gift and a good beginning sewer project.

You will need:
1 1/2 yards colorful fleece fabric
2 yards plain fleece fabric
stuffing

Start by lining up the two fabrics. Mosby REALLY loves Ava, and wanted to help.

Cut off the extra half yard of fabric.

   
Sew the "wrong sides" of the two fabric together using a sewing machine. Sew each side individually. Snip off the extra in each corner.

Stop when you have just enough of an opening on one side to pull the fabric through to make right sides be facing out. Hand stitch the opening.

  
The pillow is just as easy. Cut the remaining 1/2 yard in half.

Then follow all the same steps as the blanket. Before you hand stitch closed, just stuff the pillow.

And, there's your finished project.

I'll be back in a couple days with another craft!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB   

Easy Infinity Scarf

Happy Hump Day, All! I wanted to share a quick mid-week post to share a quick five minute project with you.

I have many fabulous fashionistas in my life. On Saturday, I went out with some of my favorite fashionistas from work to celebrate the birthday of one of my favorites, Nicolle.

We had an awesome time being together outside of work, away from kids, and with drinks in our hands.

After a beer or two, we all agreed that we HAD to surprise Nicolle with a fish bowl full of punch accompanied by a huge sparkler. Silliness ensued.

After seeing these very fashionable ladies outside of work, I decided that I need a little wardrobe up date myself.

I have been seeing a lot of infinity scarfs this winter. I am knitting myself one, but decided I couldn't wait for some cold weather fashion.

I started with an old scarf I had laying around. My friend's mom made it for him, and he decided it wasn't quite masculine for him. He passed it on to me, and it was a little too long to become a favorite of mine.

Pardon the picture. I had just returned from the gym. 

So, I decided it was the perfect candidate for my project.

I cut off all of the fringe but three pieces. 

Before and After

Then, I trimmed off all of the fringe on the other side.

I matched up the two sides (making sure the scarf wasn't twisted) and used the fringe to sew the two sides together using a darning needle. You can find darning needles where knitting supplies are sold.

1. matching the sides 2. beginning to sew 3. tying off one of the strands 4. the finished product "wrong side"

Then, just flip it off to hide the sewing.

 Wear it and enjoy!

One last note. Speaking of fabulous fashionistas, Kelle Hampton, the writer of one of my favorite blogs, Enjoying the Small Things is having a fundraiser in honor of her daughter's third birthday. Her daughter, Nella, was born with Down Syndrome. Click here to pop over to add a bit of sunshine to your day. If you feel so inclined, click here to donate to her fundraiser. All donates go directly to the National Down Syndrome Society. 

As you may have guessed (based on my career), children, especially children with special needs, hold a special place in my (and Jeremy's) hearts. The National Down Syndrome Society is a cause we both felt great about donating to this month. 

Until next time, keep crafting.

SB 

Give Thanks Banner

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I know it is all the rage to write one thing you are thankful for each day for the month of November. I decided to take a slightly different approach and include thirty things I am thankful for in my Thanksgiving post.

one. I am thankful for Jeremy. Everyday, in so many ways I am reminded of what a good man I am married to. I have been very busy with work lately, and Jeremy has picked up the slack, taking care of Mosby, going grocery shopping, and cooking meals. He's a keeper!

two. I am thankful that Jeremy and I can host Thanksgiving this year. Emily and Tony have to work today and Friday, so they can't head back to Michigan for the holiday. I'm glad my mom and dad can come into town, so we can all be together.

three. Jeremy (part two). While I was out celebrating making it through parent teacher conferences, professional development, and our upcoming five days off with some teacher friends last night, Jeremy was at home working on the beginning preparations for Thanksgiving dinner. Everything already looks wonderful and I appreciate all the effort he is making to make our dinner special.

four.  I am thankful that my dad's heel does not have to be operated on after his injury! Speedy healing is the best kind!

five. I am thankful for my dad and my relationship with my dad. I have learned so much from him over the years! He's such a smart, kind, funny man and I appreciate him instilling a great taste in music in me.

six. My mom! I find myself growing more like her as I get older, and can start to appreciate all she did for us while we were growing up and all she does for us now.

Cut a small triangle out of paper

seven. I'm thankful to be a Grossenbacher officially! Getting up early on my first day of Thanksgiving break to change my license was a wonderful use of my time!

eight. I'm thankful for my parent-in-laws. They have welcomed me into their family. I feel so lucky to have found such a wonderful man who has had these role models his whole life.

nine. I'm thankful for my sister. It's been amazing to watch what a wonderful mother she is and how much she loves her little girl.

ten. Speaking of her little girl, I'm thankful for Sofia. She is the much anticipated addition to our family. I'm especially thankful that Emily and Tony invited me to be a part of her birth. It's special to think that I've known and loved her since her very first breath.

eleven. I'm thankful for my other five nieces and nephews. I'm so thankful the little ones can't remember a time when I wasn't a part of their family and older ones have accepted me into their family. 

twelve. I'm thankful for my sisters and brothers in-law. I could ask for better people to be in my life than Tony, Michelle, Tim, Liz, and Geoff. I enjoy all of their company so much, and am always amazed at what great parents they all are.

use inexpensive felt

thirteen. I am thankful for my job. I am thankful that I have the chance to work with young people.

fourteen. I am thankful for my students. It's so fulfilling to watch them grow. And on the bad days, I'm thankful for them teaching me patience.

fifteen. I am thankful for my coworkers. There are days I wouldn't be able to force myself out of bed at 4:45 am if I didn't know that I got to go to work with these people.

sixteen. I'm thankful that I can attend my grandparent's anniversary party this weekend. Forty years of marriage is such a testament to their love.

seventeen. While I'm sad Jeremy won't be able to attend the anniversary party, I'm thankful that we have the means and flexible with work for him to be present at another special event. More details on the event to come.

eighteen. I am thankful for my aunts and uncles. My sister and I are so lucky to have grown up with the guidance and love of so many adults on both sides of our family.

Using even spacing, sew them onto a ribbon

nineteen. I'm thankful for my cousins. I only have six, but Kristen, Jill, Nathan, Allison, Kyle, and Jesse (and their significant others and children) have been the most fun to grow up with and hang out with now that we are all adults.

twenty. I'm thankful for Mosby. You didn't think I'd leave him out, did you? His mix of crazy energy and cuddliness makes him the exact dog I have always wanted.

twenty-one. I'm thankful for our little apartment. It's so nice to know that I'm coming home to a warm, comfortable place.

twenty-two. I'm thankful for friends that have become family. Haley and Maggie have been such wonderful friends to me and family for so long, I can't imagine life without them and their families anymore than I can imagine life without my "blood" family.

twenty-three. I am thankful for all of my other childhood and college friends. These friends are my memory keepers, reminding me of all the good times growing up and reminding me where I came from.

twenty-four. I am thankful for my Chicago friends. They are the people that have become my surrogate family, when I'm far(-ish) from mine.

Cut out letters in brown felt. I used

twenty-five. I'm thankful for Jeremy's hometown crew. They and their significant others have become such an important part of my life.

twenty-six. I'm thankful for my health and the health of those I love.

twenty-seven. I'm thankful for books. I've always been a reader and enjoy escaping into different stories.

twenty-eight.  I'm thankful for this break from work. It's much needed.

twenty-nine. I'm thankful for 2012. It's been a big, wonderful, overwhelming, beautiful year. My family grew through weddings and a baby and I'm so grateful for it all.

thirty. I'm thankful for this blog, which provides me a way and reason to express my creativity. I'm also thankful for you all and all your kind comments in person, through emails, texts, and comments. 

Until next time, keep crafting.

SB

Halloween Costume

Happy Halloween

Hi all! And Happy Halloween! I LOVE Halloween! I love the leaves on the ground, the decorations, the imagination, and the kids' excitement! Jeremy and I live on a very "neighborhood-y" type street. We get TONS of trick-or-treaters, and we both love passing out the candy each year. This year, we are making turkey pumpkin chili and looking forward to some Halloween fun!

To get in the Halloween mood, we have put up a few decorations. (Just so you Ludington folks know, the ghost and witch sign were both purchased at "Kmart North")

And we went on a little Halloween walk with Mosby the other evening. A lot of our neighbors love to decorate for Halloween. Notice the outrageously decorated house? You should see it at Christmas.

And yesterday, I brought Miss Sofia her Halloween gift. 

For my second knitting project, I made a little pumpkin hat for Sofia. I had a little help from my instructor (especially on the top), but I think it turned out SUPER CUTE!

My mom and I had already found the little outfit, and Emily had it on her when I stopped by. Adorable!

Of course, I decided that Mosby needed a costume wear while greeting the trick-or-treaters. 

 Last year, Mosby was a baby dinosaur. He was very ferocious. (Actually he was growing so quickly last year, the costume was too small for him by the time Halloween rolled around, and he was pretty miserable.)

This year, I decided to make Mosby a costume. Dog costume are kind of expensive, especially considering Mosby will probably only wear each one once, and after about a half hour, I feel bad for him and let him take it off.

For Mosby's costume, I wanted to play off his looks. He has a big white strip down the center of his head, much like.....

A DOUBLE STUFF OREO!

Yup, Mosby is an Oreo this year. 

Here's how I made it happen...

I bought a dog t-shirt from Target that was on sale.

Then, I used some scrap cardboard to make the bases for the two outside cookies. I used a bowl for perfect circles.

I used the bowl again to cut out slightly larger circles from an old t-shirt.

 

Next, I sewed the two "cookies" to a piece of white fabric (the filling).

 Then, I sewed one end of the filling to the collar of the dog shirt. I placed the cardboard on either side, snug to the black "cookies". I used some left over stuffing from my pillow project to stuff the cookie. Then, I hand sewed the rest of the cookie to the shirt.

I also had to put a piece of cardboard between the cookie and Mosby's back, to keep in nice and stable.

And here's the finished project. One Oreo!

Wishing you a SPOOK-tacular Halloween!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB