the couch, part 1

here it is, a tuesday project complete with pictures!
keep in mind, i am not a pro at this.  (=

sparked by what i have noticed to be a current trend, i decided to cover our couch--a fanTAStic piece of furniture passed our way via the fanTAStic mamaw and papaw--
with the glorious canvas drop cloths from Lowe's.

this is the couch BEFORE:

it is a pretty print, and looking at it in a picture makes me wonder what the rush is to cover it.....but don't let it fool you!
it is TOTALLY ready for a make-over.  (=

now again, please don't assume that i am an expert reupholsterer.
i am not.
what i am blessed with is a couch that i can cover without a lot of difficulty.
at least in my opinion.

here is the plan:

1.  bleach drop cloths in washing machine.  (a very long process in my opinion)
     and hang up to dry.

done. {except for the pillow-cover canvas}

2.  remove both cushions and all 4 pillows from couch base.

done.  {and done and redone possibly a-thousand times each day by my lively little 'trio!}

3.  drape bleached 16x19ft. drop cloth over the couch base and strategically sew coordinating 'ties' onto      
     the sides so as to pull and tighten the look of the base.  and to add a sweet little unkempt bow to the            
     back of the couch if it were to be in a position that the back of it were visible.

done.  {sans the sewing of the 'ties'....this will be part 2}

4.  create removable covers for 2 cushions.

done.  {i did this via a little fancy style i like to call.....'winging it'.  it's just the way i do things.}

-i wrapped each cushion in it's respective half of the drop cloth so that the center seam lie directly on the front edge of the cushion (as if i had made it that way!) and then 'envelope folded' the corners (one at a time) and top stitched along the tops of the seams.
fastening the back, however, will be part 2 as well.

of course i placed them atop the draped canvas, just to check on progress.....

and then,  5.  create removable [and stenciled] covers for 4 pillows.

not done.  this will be part 2, too!  (=

so, voila!
and since they have been bleached, clean up should be as easy as can be!  (=

that is all for today,


enjoy!

-c.  (=

lemony-gingerbread whoopie pies

YUM!

in January's issue of Bon Appetit, there was an entire article devoted to the whoopie pie.
my absolutely lovely neighbor and dear friend borrowed this issue from me to make this version of their whoopie pies and sent a few over for our little ones (and i) to enjoy.

they were scrumptious.

they got me thinking.....

then, a few nights later the 'trio and i were having a seriously fun sleep-over with mamaw and papaw--aka my mom and dad--this is one of our very favorite special occasions!
and while i was flipping through my mom's [mamaw's] 'taste of home' magazine i saw an ENTIRE article devoted to, again, you guessed it, these elusive whoopie pies!!!!!

now, i have never to my knowledge (aside from lovely neighbor's recent gifting) in all of my 29 years tasted a whoopie pie.
i have heard them praised randomly once or twice, but nothing has piqued my curiosity so much
as not 1
but 2 [very compelling] and newly published articles.
apparently the uprise of the whoopie pie was even discussed in recent weeks on the ever-popular Today Show!

bon appetit is my favorite all-time magazine, if you will recall.
still, the 'lemony-gingerbread' whoopie pie recipe in taste of home called my name.....

and they are INCREDIBLE!!!!!

see?




[insert picture here]



sorry, we ate them all before i could snap a picture in all of their loveliness!
they were beautiful.

i am definitely planning on adding more images to my posts, though, in all of this hullabaloo of newness around here!  (=

the wondrous 'trio and i prepped, mixed, refrigerated, rolled, sugared, created, mixed again, cooled, spread, etc. etc. etc.
and the end result was nothing short of YUM!

you must must try them, and then tell me all about it when you love them as much as we do!
[now to make the french macaroons with raspberry-rose buttercream.  which one will we love more?


enjoy!

-c.  (=

pancakes and couch cushions.....

i was challenged last week by a very dear friend (Erin, of Lemon Tree Creations) to MAKE!!!

ever since our move last june i have been struggling with loss.
it comes and goes mostly, but at times it completely takes over and i am tend to drown in it.

for a while i assumed that the loss i was experiencing was the loss of a place and of the people there.
only recently, though, have i realized that the place itself had not made me whole, and
i still have the people.  very much so do i have them.

so the loss i have been suffering, was something inside of me.

throughout all of this, one of the things E has said to me over and over again is, MAKE!

i LOVE to make, to create, to get messy.
why am i not doing it more?????
surely it is part of what was lost.

of course it is.

after accepting [joyfully and possibly a little unwillingly] said challenge i was faced with the stark realization that it has truly been enough.

the next day,
forcing myself to sweep the floor (therapeutic, right?)
i cried.
and i cried out to God as i so often do.
but something
i begged and i pleaded.
i didn't want to figure this out on my own.
i could not figure this out on my own.
i did not, either, want to search elsewhere for an answer to this wretchedness.
why has He not taken this feeling away from me yet?

this battle raged for nearly all of nap time after which i found myself face down on our living room [still newly painted and LOVING it!] floor,
ready for a new start.
which was granted immediately.
beautifully.  graciously.
THANKfully.  (=

and guess what?  i feel like i am home again!
right here, in our new town!!!!!
really, really and truly.  the difference is palpable.
God is amazing.  life is amazing.
it always is.
He always is.


i am sure you are wondering, 'pancakes and couch cushions'?????

well, this morning, at the prompting of L, i made
'the biggest pancakes he has ever seen'!
and they were sweet for 2 reasons:

1.  the kiddos loved them and one was just enough to save the leftover not-so-gigantic ones for afternoon snack,
and
2.  i did slightly char them enough that I was inclined to eat only one!  (=

as for the cushions,
I MADE 2 COUCH CUSHION COVERS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i did!  (=

i am in the process of re-covering our couch via the wonderful and ever-so-versatile canvas drop cloths found in the Lowe's paint department.
i do intend to share this story more as it progresses....along with a few other things i 'whipped up' this morning as my lovelies jumped on A2 and i's bed and played sweetly and beautifully together.



enjoy!

-c.  (=