Products I recommend: Gordon's Fish!

It's time for another rousing edition of "Products Domestic Diva Likes (but didn't get paid to tell you about)!"

This time: Gordon's Simply Bake Fish

I love fish.  I am also terrible at cooking it.  And my husband HATES it.  This does not really give me a lot of incentive to get better at fish cooking.  When tilapia was cheap, when I first got married (sometimes cheaper than chicken!) I got pretty good at this recipe that involved lime juice and peach salsa, but now that it's expensive, it's too depressing to pay for it and then risk ruining it.

Enter: Gordon's Simply Bake fish!  You just... preheat your oven, pop the little pouch in, and wait 20-35 minutes.

I've tried the tilapia and the salmon so far and both are delicious!

And the house doesn't totally smell like fish afterwards, so my husband isn't too annoyed with me.  :)

Lately this has been great for "Fend for Yourself" nights when Jake is willing to eat leftover pizza, AGAIN, and I just cannot do it.  :)

So there you have it. Easy, not too expensive, delicious fish.

Framing a Rug

One of the alphabets we got for the nursery is this beautiful hieroglyphic rug from our friends Scott and Erika.  The only problem... I have no idea how to hang a rug.

Internetz to the rescue!

After reading a few different posts about options, I decided on the following process:

Step 1: Velcro the fringe
I bought some sticky velcro and stuck it to the back of the top of the rug fringe. (I also read about options of sewing this top section, but velcro seemed the easiest and least likely to end up with me in tears or the rug in tatters.)

Step 2: Pin the Rug
I also got a shadow box, which came with backing and pins.  I would note, I also stuck the sticky side of the velcro tape to the backing of the shadow box as well.

Step 3: Frame
When the shadow box was all assembled, only moments later, I was quite pleased with the results.

And that is the very last thing we needed to do in the nursery.  (Cough cough, hint hint, baby.)

Nursery Tour: Part 3 (The Alphabets)

This is the final installment of the Nursery Tour: The Alphabets!

Jake and I agreed pretty quickly that we wanted to do alphabets as a theme in the nursery.  It just sorta fits Jake and I thought it was an awesome idea!

The first alphabet we got was a Hebrew Alphabet from Jake's parents.  They had actually picked this up for us when they were in Israel way before we got pregnant. We were pretty excited!

(The ABCs above are from my baby shower and my friend Gretchen who used them on a really cool diaper cake)

Next, my parents gave us these Greek Alphabet blocks, which I think are so cool!

The third alphabet we got was this hieroglypic alphabet from our friends Scott and Erika (still need to figure out how to hang this one)

And the fourth alphabet was an English alphabet also from my mom.  This is the sampler I crossstitched in the 8th grade. Mom had been saving it all these years to frame for a future nursery.  It turned out pretty incredible.  It also makes up for all the screaming and crying over how long this thing took way back when.

With that being said, I am soooo excited to meet this little guy and show him his room! :)  Officially the due date is July 4th.

The Nursery Tour: Part 2 (The Colors)

Before I was pregnant, I always knew I wanted a yellow or green nursery.  Don't get me wrong, pink and blue are fantastic! But I feel like a neutral nursery is sooo beautiful, and allows for re-use with future children!

I ended up finding this gorgeous crib set at Target.

Then, my sister Katie helped me coordinate the cubes.... (Kids have SOOOO much stuff, you hafta get cubes! Or a thousand drawers!)

And then I found the changing pad cover at Buy Buy Baby.  Ahh... beautifully coordinated. :)

Up Next: The Alphabets

The Nursery Tour: Part 1 (The Furniture)

So here it is, folks. The long awaited nursery tour.

I couldn't really get a good picture of the whole room (bad angles) so I've decided to break it up into a series of auto-posting posts. So come back tomorrow for the next installment!

Firstly of all, this is the recliner.

When we got to the nursery, I knew a regular old rocking chair was not going to cut it.  We needed a recliner.  A comfy, I can sleep in it, Jake can work from it, recliner.  And so we began scouring Craigslist.  After having slept many a night in this chair, as the pregnancy gets more and more uncomfortable, I can say, this was a good purchase!

Then there's the crib, of course.  This was a hand-me-down from our dear friends Amy, Fletcher and Jayne.  So aside from being a beautiful color and a great financial help, it's also a reminder of them, since they just moved away (and we miss them already!)

The changing table was an interesting adventure.  I found the one I wanted at Target, but my Target didn't carry it. (They did have a floor model though, for some reason.)  Jake, sweetly, called around the next day for me and was told that a nearby Target had it, but it was on sale so they couldn't hold it.  He immediately drove over and picked it up... and ended up getting it for 1/3 of the original cost!!  I was so excited!

The cubes and the bookcase were a big thing too.  Katie my sister helped pick out the cubes, and Jake and I picked out the bookcase.  I originally thought I was going to have a mismatched nursery, because I didn't think I could coordinate all the pieces, but it really came together nicely!

Up next: The Colors!

Guest Post: A Letter from a Mother's Heart

A few months ago I reached out to some of my mom friends and asked if any of them would care to guest post on this blog about my impending motherhood.  Here's the first guest post.

Cynthia is a lovely sweet mother from my church.  She and I actually grew up together, but have reconnected within the last year.  She wrote me this sweet letter as a guest post.  I will confess, and maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones (but I doubt it), I cried when I read this.  She has a beautiful way with words.  She's such an encouragement, and I'm so excited to share this with you.

As I'm counting down these last few weeks (Officially: 3 1/2 left), I find myself a lot less afraid and a lot more ready for the crazy whirlwind that is coming next.

Mary Beth, my clock reads 4:08am and I should be tucked in bed fast asleep. But something changed about two years ago when I gave birth to my daughter: sleep is impossible when someone I love is in labor. And my sister just called, breathing shallow gasps between contractions. It is time. 

My heart filled with prayer that won’t stop because I’ve been there. It is awesome. And terrifying. The most incredible experience I’ve ever had. And the hardest. Jesus can meet you in your weakness or it can be filled with terror. I didn’t get that before. Now as I storm the throne room with passionate prayer I realize I’m a part of something so much bigger than myself. I have been inserted in another woman’s story. Her life story. The stuff that matters.

As I pace the living room and ask God to fill her with peace and to bring this baby safely and quickly, I am fueled by memories and love. I’m part of a community I hadn’t realized existed. Because while anyone can pray and hope for great things for my sister, those who have been through it pray with a fervency and passion that is unique. We breath deeper as if breathing for her. As if by intense focus we can will her through this journey, lending her our strength. It’s why I cry every time a baby is born in a TV show or movie. Because even my tear ducts remember that incredible moment and I’m so full of joy for their moment of birth. Yes, even though it’s a fictional birth. That’s how powerful the bond of motherhood is. 

So as I pause my pacing I’ve been thinking about you, Mary Beth, and this precious little boy you carry inside you. I smile when I see you because of the excitement and the little bit of apprehension on your face when you talk about motherhood. Everything is so new and exciting. And it is scary. A smile comes to my face because I’m confident that you are going to love this whole motherhood thing. Because on the other side of the birth experience I find there are still lots of new things, and plenty that scares me. What I wasn’t expecting was the joy that would flood and cover it all. Who knew my heart could hold it’s breath when my daughter smiles or laughs? Who knew I would sometimes cry in sheer gratefulness for her being here, walking around the living room trailing toilet paper she’s carefully pulling off the tube? 

Before I wander off in endless stories about my child I wanted to mention a couple of the most important thoughts I can pass on. These are things I’ve thought about a lot, because you are probably overwhelmed with advice right now:

1. Every woman has her own story. Her labor story, her birth story, her experiences with an infant, toddler, preschooler and on it goes. And while hearing all those stories might be helpful I highly recommend you tuck them into that place labeled “random storage” in your head and focus as much attention as possible on your own story. Because you won’t experience this pregnancy with this baby again and you never know what wonderful memories you will make by being fully present. Now ignore what I just said so I can share more of my experience!
2. You are stronger than you know. Birth might be scary and full of unknowns but I have all confidence that when you reach that point you will be amazed to see your own inner strength emerging. Nothing can match the ferocious determination of a woman bringing her child into the world.
3. Hormones are your friends. I’ll take a lot of flak for saying this, but really, the craziness of hormones the months after birth have the potential to be that constant reminder to take care of yourself in a way you probably wouldn’t with all the distractions of having a newborn. They can remind you that a nap really is more important than the laundry, that some quiet time with Jesus and a latte can solve a bucket of tears. If you are willing to listen, they will let you know when you should simplify life. 

The future is full of good things for you, Mary Beth, and I feel so lucky to have a front row seat to see you experience it!

Yup, she's nesting

4 weeks and some change til my due date and I can't seem to help but nest.

My latest project: these throw pillows.

When we first got married our bedding set was rust colored and we had a few throw pillows. When the comforter fell apart at the seams, we kept the pillows, which I always intended to cover.

Now with a baby coming, who will not sit on a couch by himself for years and will never notice that I have beautiful throw pillows, I decided that the pillows MUST be covered now.

The first pattern I made up myself and it resembles and envelope on the back... one I had to hand stitch so that the pillow inside is preserved.

For the second pillowcase though, I looked online (mostly pinterest) and found a better design. I had to modify the sizes based on my pillow and the pieces of scraps I had, but the basic design is here:
http://cleverbetty.blogspot.com/2013/03/beginner-sewing-tutorial-simple-pillow.html

Like last time, I'm relearning the importance of ironing and pinning. And also, my messy first pillow and awesome second pillow look exactly the same from the front.