Tips on Going Green

On my mission to improve our household, I have been searching the Internet for tips on saving money and going green. Today I came across www.thedailygreen.com and I have fallen in love with it. Their "10 Easiest Tips" section is great and gave me some ideas I hadn't thought of yet.
There are a few things on the list I have been doing for a while, but others I definitely want to start doing, such as paying bills online and buying hormone-free milk. So, anyhoo...that's whats on my mind today. Oh, and I need to buy canvas totes from Publix for my groceries. No more plastic bags for us. So, go check out that website, it's really helpful. :)

Dogs are very funny

Earth Love

This day makes me sad. I am not a hippie or anything, but I really do feel the need to try and do my part. I am going to start making recycling a part of our lives, and why should'nt it be? It seems so irresponsible not to. I wish I would have done so a long time ago.
Last month I stopped using paper towels on a daily basis. I have not had to buy any since about 2 months ago either. I use cloth napkins for almost everything now. Cleaning, wiping things up, and for our napkins. Such a simple little thing, but if everyone did it, it might be a bigger thing. It saves you money and saves trees. I know a lot of people would laugh at that because it totally sounds "hippy-ish"...but its true. :)

It's Springtime!

Woohoo! Hello to all of my favorite things I have missed so badly. Warm sunshine, sitting outside, flowers, laying in the hammock...Mmmm. Makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Well, Olivia is going on 3.5 months old now! Good thing I got a chance to blog before she starts college, huh?  I am so ashamed that I havent posted any updates on her. Blogging seems to be a thing of the past now, which is good for Liv though, because she has all of my time now. :) And thats fine.

(First Easter Pictures-above)

She is getting SO big and chunky-goodness. She has the cutest little laugh and her cry is so nasally and small(but her lungs work just fine, thank you!). This week she has started grabbing things and holding them. She is trying to eat everything, her hands mostly. Which probably means a little tooth is on its way within a month or two.

Now that she knows who we are and recognizes us, you can definitely tell that she knows how to get her way, especially with me. She does this little whiney cry when she wants me to rock her to sleep, rather than go to sleep on her own. Liv starts smiling and kicking her arms and legs when she knows I am going to pick her up, LOVE IT!

In other awesome news, Justin planted me a rose garden last week. <3 It's so refreshing and beautiful. He made a stone edge wall around it. I will post pictures when I get a chance to take some. Well, I think I have run out of time, as Olivia is waking up!

12 weeks with Olivia

Man, we have come a long way in 12 weeks! Just ten weeks ago, I was sleep deprived yet so excited at how my life had changed with the birth of our daughter. Now, I am sleeping through the night and able to fully enjoy my time with her. She is an ahh-mazing little girl! I know she is so smart, I can see that she studies things and loves to look around, taking everything in. She has started to reach for things and grab them. She gives you a big smile when you return to the room, back into her sight. She totally owns me.


We just took a short trip to Disney, well, EPCOT. We are 2.5 hours away so it was easy peasy. She was a champ and just went along for the ride. I guess at this age, she has no choice. We spent most of our time at the resort and Downtown Disney. It was just what we needed to refresh ourselves.

Sewing: Olivia's First Dress

Here is the dress I worked on yesterday. I used a pattern from sewingpatterns.com and printed it out on my printer. That was the most challenging part, having to piece them all together. I dont know if I will do that again! Buying a pattern would be easier. I bought the fabric from Hobby Lobby(my fav craft store). They have really good collections there, so its easy to find matching colors.

The pattern was fairly easy to use once it was all together. The dress would have not taken that long to make had it not been lined. But, the lining really makes it look better! The green bow is just tied around it right now, until I can attach it. The best part is this dress only cost around 6.00 to make with the fabric, so now that I have the pattern I can make her a bunch of them! 

Here are a few more photos:

The Back

The lining

Bow

I am making another this week/weekend, whichever comes first. :) Having a newborn only allows me so much time. Usually while she naps. Will post my other dress then!

Learning to sew & other good things

Today I felt really creative so I decided to make a stroller bag to hang on the back of the stroller. I had no pattern, so I just cut out some rectangular shapes and sides and made a bottom. It was really easy and does not require a whole lot of thought, if I did it, we all know thats true. :) Then when I finished I added the embroidered lettering I purchased from Hobby Lobby.

I am going to start using the stroller bag instead of lugging around a huge diaper bag. Babies dont really require that much stuff. They poop, eat and sleep. So yeah, When she gets older, a few toys might fit in there too. Its about 10" wide and about 8" deep. I got my inspiration for this on Etsy, and since I am such a frugal chick I decided to make it myself. It was fun making it too. I would post a pattern for this on here, but I dont know of one. Besides the little yellow cutout paper I did today that is pretty ridiculous and emberassing. Haha!