All Packed

Avery thought it would be a good idea to come along with us to NYC. I guess she'll be surprised to wake up at Omie and Opa's tomorrow without Mommy and Daddy around. Don't worry I promised to bring her presents.

The sweet Jenny of Sew Pretty Dresses passed along this award to me today. Jenny is always sending along great messages of encouragement as well as posting interesting sewing ideas on her blog. She is also a fellow Texan and Aggie! Whoop! So now it is my turn to do the following:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.

Thanks again Jenny. You rock!

2. Pass this award on to 7 bloggers you have recently discovered and whom you think are fantastic.

1) Brooch the Subject

2) Juicy Bits
3) Stop Staring and Start Sewing

4) Lovely Little Handmades

5) Knock Off Wood

6) Lime Gardenias

7) Such Pretty Things

3. Contact said blogs and let them know - in progress

4. State 7 things about yourself

1) I left the world of structural engineering to stay at home with my daughter.

2) I've only been sewing for about 14 months.

3) I love to bake, but I'm not as thrilled about cooking.

4) I have reservations at Serendipity3 in NYC on Tuesday to eat an amazingly huge dessert, and I might not share.

5) I love Mexican food.

6) I am very proud of my husband for what he does at home and at work.

7) I love cooked tomatoes, but can't stand them raw.

New Shop Stuff

I've been busy trying to get a couple more items ready for the shop. This is a new pattern for me by Farbenmix called the Vida jumper. I used a combination of Jennifer Paganelli fabrics with a sheet from Pottery Barn. I love all the fabric and trim options this pattern allows. I switched up the pattern's button straps for ties to allow room for growth, and because I just think they are cute.

I used almost the same fabrics in different ways to sew up one for Avery too.

I like to call this outfit her "passionate for purple" set. My favorite color is purple, so this bright combo makes me smile. I used Simplicity pattern 4203 for the top and Portabellopixie's ruffle pants for the bottoms. I added a little pocket detail on the back of the pants. The fabrics are from Michael Miller and Sandi Henderson.

Avery was a trooper for the photos since it was probably still in the 60's while we tried to capture these photos. (Don't worry, we had her coat on her minutes later.) Avery sure kept Liz on her toes trying to snap pictures while she ran about.

Check out the shop for the new listings.

OMG NYC!!

I've been trying to post some sewing pictures this morning, but blogger is not cooperating with me one bit. I'm posting some other exciting news instead. Todd's job is very unpredictable in a normally irritating way. Yesterday afternoon though, we had a pleasant surprise from his job. Within a couple hours from finding out he needed to be in New York City on Monday, we had two tickets booked and hotel reservations made. His half of the trip will be fully paid for!! Better yet, Omie and Opa have agreed to keep Avery during the trip!!!! We'll be in New York from Sunday to Wednesday. This is our first time to really be away from Avery during her first 20 months. We're super excited! It will be my 5th trip to the city, but Todd's first. Feel free to pass on any recommendations you may have.

I Made a Pie

For the longest time, I've had an irrational fear of baking pies. I know, it's weird. I love to bake just about every thing else. I've tackled a few cookie or graham cracker pies here and there. Then last Thanksgiving, I made a pumpkin pie, but I cheated with a store bought crust. I knew a time would come when I would need to get past this fear and make a real pie from scratch, rolled dough crust and all. Then the other day Sandi Henderson posted this recipe for an apple pie. It sounded so good that I figured this was my chance to give it a try. Boy, I'm glad I did. Give it a try. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Veggie Goodness

This recipe hit a home run with the family tonight, so I thought I pass it along. It's from the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Roasted Carrots with Feta and Parsley

3 pounds medium carrots, cut 1/2 inch thick on the bias
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or just sprinkle on some dried parsley)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss carrots with oil on a rimmed baking sheet, and season with salt and pepper. Roast until carrots are tender, about 25 minutes.
2. Transfer carrots to a bowl, and toss with feta and parsley.

I usually don't have any trouble getting Avery to eat her fruits and veggies. With the addition of cheese, she really gobbled it up. Now, if I could just get her to eat meat. Looks like I've got a budding vegetarian on my hands. If you have any advice on getting a toddler to eat meat, please pass it along.

Love Birds

I was so excited to be able to get two outfits out of this Leanika fabric I bought. I love it! I think it paired perfectly with Jennifer Paganelli's geometric bellbottoms prints. I used the Portabellopixie Gracie jumper and ruffle pants patterns.

This jumper is reversible, so I chose another great Jennifer Paganelli fabric, Kate's Wish, for the reverse side. I have always been a fan of the pink and green combo.

Here's my little model. She's too fast these days to get any great photos. Hopefully someday I'll be able to get her to strike a pose.

The pants look too long here, but it's just the grass. I've finally got the sizing right for this pattern, and they fit great.

Happy Valentine's Day

Omie came for a visit this weekend, but unfortunately Avery got sick Friday afternoon. She really wasn't her usual happy self at all. Fortunately for me, Omie was a huge help. She even made it in town early enough to help me with taking Avery to the doctor. Hour ++ long waits at a doctor's office with a sick toddler will drive anyone insane. Avery's disposition was much better today despite a continued cough, so we were able to enjoy some of the sunshine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

More Than a Blog

I finally did it! Sweeter Than Cupcakes is more than a blog; it's a shop now too. Head on over to SweeterThanCupcakes on Etsy to see what it's all about.I only have two items listed currently. The first is a custom listing for a baby size version of this dress I made for Avery.
The second is a ready to ship lovebirds dress in size 2T. This one is the Modkid Boutique Isabel pattern. I am in love with this new line of fabrics called "Leanika" by Dena Designs. I paired the Leanika fabrics with a Sis Boom Bellbottoms ruffle and Pillow and Maxfield's Ditto Dots lining.

We'll just have to wait and see how this goes. I will not make any promises to keep a large inventory. As always, my first priority is my family and sewing for my own little one. Whatever extra I can fit in will go into the shop. I'll post new listings here on the blog when they are ready to go to the shop.

Sewing for a Cause

I pulled together these little dresses for a local group who will be holding a silent auction to raise money to provide Build-A-Bunnies for children in the hospital. This is the Tana Tutu Dress pattern by Nanoo Designs. I used some vintage fabric for this first dress. This fabric is Pop Daisy by Heather Bailey.

I can't resist including these cute pictures of Avery.

Thanks again to Liz for taking some photos for me.

Valentine Party

Here are a few photo's from Avery's Valentine Party. She had quite the sugar rush afterwards.

It's quite rainy here today, so Avery was thrilled to wear her rain boots.

Valentine Sweets

Of course, I had to put together something sweet for Avery's Mother's Day Out Valentine party. I can't take credit for this idea, because I have seen it somewhere before. I can't give credit either, since I can't remember where I found it. Oh well. This is basically a quicker version of Bakerella's cupcake pops. Skip the cake and use marshmallows. These aren't just any marshmallows of course, they are a wonderful shade of pink!Stick the marshmallow on a lollipop stick, dip the marshmallow in melted candy melts and top with sprinkles and an M&M. Package and label as desired.

These are cute without the sticks too, just place them in mini muffin cups.

We'll have the party pics up next.

First Bubble Bath

I'm not sure why we haven't done this earlier, but when Avery started to say bubbles a couple of days ago, I knew it was time. Last night when I was getting her ready for the bath she just kept repeating, "bubbles, bubbles, bubbles..." And that was only from the bubbles we get on our hands from the scrubbing!

This was a super sweet fun time. Telling her bath time was all done and getting her out was another story all together.