Felt Baby Shoes

I made the cutest little pair baby shoes out of felt and embroidery string. Aren't they darling? They look like mini moccasins. I found a great step-by-step tutorial with a template here. They are hand stitched and are pretty quick to make, once you get the hang of it. The trickiest part was adding a small strip of elastic on the inside, to help keep them on little feet. 

I added a ribbon for putting them on and buttons on the back. 

You could make any color combination, for a boy or girl. 

I made these for sweet little Oliver. I died when Hilary sent me this photo of Oliver wearing them for the first time. Too. Cute. They may be a little big, but he has time to grow into them. 

Now Chancho wants a pair. Make that two pairs. 

Beach Wedding Invitation

I had the honor of designing my cousin Marsha's wedding invitations. She and her husband, Jonathan, got married on the beach in Florida. They asked for a seaside themed invitation with a natural and organic feel to reflect their special day. Almost as if the invitation had been kissed by the ocean and left in the sun to dry.

Here's how they looked, printed on ivory paper. It was really fun to use a watercolor texture and nautical elements - especially a pair of lobsters, which were Marsha's special request. 

Photo by Brad's Creative Images Photography 

What a beautiful couple! I wish we could have been there to celebrate with them. It looked like an absolutely beautiful day. 

 Photo by Brad's Creative Images Photography 

Isn't Marsha a stunning bride? I just love her rosette headpiece veil. The new Mr. and Mrs. Jones are approaching their 2 month anniversary. Congratulations! Thank you for letting me share a small part of your wedding. Love you!

Beautiful Things

I've had the song "Beautiful Things" by Gungor on repeat. It's become part of my life's soundtrack lately. The lyrics are so simple, yet powerful. I mainly like the chorus and find my self humming, "You make me new, You are making me new" all throughout the day. 

It reminds me of  2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

I designed the above quote desktop/screensaver. Feel free to download and use as your own beautiful reminder. I took this photo last summer while driving past a field that caused me to pull over just to capture the beauty of it all. 

My heart has been heavy for those going through difficult times. Sickness. Divorce. Death. Loss. Broken relationships. Life is hard. It's also beautiful. It's only by the grace of God that we get to experience both. 

A reoccurring truth that's been so impressed upon me lately is that He is still my Jesus, no matter what's going on in this life. It sounds so elementary. Through the good and the bad, He is God. In blessings and in pain, He is faithful. When my heart is overflowing with joy and when I can't hold back the tears, He is the same. Yesterday, today and forever. His love never fails. Never. Not once. 

We may not see or understand it, but His plans are always beautiful and always good. "All around hope is springing up from this old ground. Out of chaos life is being found in You."

Beautiful Things - Gungor

All this pain
I wonder if I'll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in you

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new

You make me new, You are making me new

It's May

Somehow, it's already the Month of May. I somewhat, unintentionally, took over a month off from blogging. I'm sorry friends! I'm still here. Life is moving right along. The days seem to be passing fast, yet slow, if that makes any sense. My schedule has been a bit busy lately. And I've been taking some time just to "be". 

I've been happy to be working on a few wedding invitations. I'm also a volunteer on our Church's graphics team, which is fun. I get to use my design skills in a different capacity and feel like I'm making a difference in our church community. I recently helped design the backdrop theme for a Sunday sermon, which was new for me and pretty exciting. 

Last week, I completed my first 5-day clean eating challenge. All my meals and snacks were planned out, along with LOTS of water drinking and exercising 25 minutes a day. At the end of it, I felt great, and I've adapted some new healthy habits. I haven't had dessert in 9 days! What?! I've turned down cookies, brownies, ice cream and the like. Mostly to see if I could do it and to break my need for sweets on a regular basis. I feel better about what I'm eating, I actually have more energy and I'm sleeping better at night. I'm hoping to keep it up (with some cheat days, of course). I'm not about to swear off sweets permanently, or anything like that. You should be worried if I said I was. Everything in moderation. 

We've reached the other side of a looooong winter and a not-so-spring-like spring. I was thankful that the sun was shining today, even if there still was a very cool breeze. I picked a few flowers from my yard and admired them on my kitchen windowsill. The buds are blossoming on the trees - at last! Warmer days are on the way, I can feel it. 

We went to Pennsylvania for Easter and got to spend time with family, which is always nice. On a side note, my hair is getting really long again. I think I'm about due for a summer trim to spruce things up a bit - nothing too drastic though. I'm still loving the peek-a-boo highlights I got in November. 

Besides the business of life, my blogging has taken a bit of a backseat simply because I haven't had a ton to share lately and I haven't felt very inspired. I think it's definitely good to take a break now and then. I want my posts to be meaningful, useful or interesting. Sometimes, I've got nothin'. Plain as that. Plus, I often wonder if anyone is really reading this or if it's just a creative outlet for me. 

I do want to say a sincere thank you to those of you, faithful readers (you know who you are!), who loyally follow my blog, and miss it enough to tell me. That means a lot to me! I treasure your support and kind words.

xoxo
Sarah

Mexican Style Spaghetti Squash

I like trying new recipes that incorporate lots of veggies - and actually taste really good. I was perusing Printerest, looking for dinner ideas, and found this recipe that sparked my interest. I didn't feel like cooking the vegetables or using as many ingredients, so I put my own spin on it and came up with: a Mexican style roasted spaghetti squash bowl topped with fresh salsa and black beans. That's a mouthful. I'm somewhat obsessed with the combination of avocado, lime and cilantro. Cilantro is the crowing jewel to any dish for me. I can't get enough of the stuff! I also like black beans. The flavors are so fresh! You can use whatever veggies you like. 

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1-2 ripe avocados
1-2 Roma tomatoes
Half a yellow bell pepper
Half a small onion (or less, the flavor is strong)
1 can black beans, drained (or better yet, Caribbean seasoned black beans)
Half a lime
Fresh Cilantro
Olive Oil 
Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Cut spaghetti squash into 4 pieces. Rub squash flesh with a little olive oil and sprinkle a little salt on pieces. Roast squash, skin side down on baking sheet, for 50 minutes or until strands are tender. 

10 minutes before squash is done roasting, make fresh salsa topping. Drain can of black beans. Dice avocados, tomato, bell pepper, onion and tear pieces of cilantro. Add beans and vegetables to a bowl. Squeeze juice of half a lime into bowl. Drizzle with light amount of olive oil. Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt. Gently mix everything together. 

When squash is done roasting, let cool for 10 minutes or until it's easy to handle. Scrape 1 section of squash into a bowl, fluff strands and top with a few spoonfuls of fresh salsa. Enjoy! 

Makes 4 servings. Or, if you're like me, you'll eat two helpings, because it's that good! Refrigerate squash and salsa separately if you have leftovers and enjoy the next day.

Oliver Blanket Set

I made a baby boy blanket, bib and burp cloth set, for my friend (and coworker), Hilary. Sweet little Oliver (such a cute name!) arrived a week ago. He is so cute in photos! I can't wait to meet him in person. 

Hilary is the tiniest little thing and the most graceful expectant Mom I've ever seen. I thought this simple gray chevron would be cute for her baby boy. Hilary and I share a love of chevron. 

The bibs and burps are fun to make. The blankets seem to try my patience. They have quickly become a limited edition. 

I packaged it up in a green basket with cute nautical rope handles, wrapped some cellophane around it and tied it with a ribbon. I hope Oliver likes it! 

This is the pink leopard baby girl blanket set I made. So cute.

Spring Birthday

It's that time of year again...my birthday and the first day of spring! Although, by the looks of it outside, winter isn't going to leave without a fight. 

I thought I'd give you a special TBT photo. For those of you who are challenged by acronyms like I am, TBT stands for "Throw Back Thursday." Not to be confused with "Truth Be Told," like I initially thought it meant. 

This is my class picture from 4th or 5th grade (for some reason, I can't quite remember, and if it's not written on the back of the photo, I have to guess). I'm pretty sure it was around 1991, so 9 or 10 years old. I'm wearing my FAVORITE pink and navy polkadot dress at the time - complete with a bow, front and center. Pearls I wore in my sister's wedding. This is pre-braces. My teeth needed some serious orthodontics (thanks Mom & Dad!). And, last but not least, my WORST. haircut. EVER. It's SO short. Slicked back, swooped on top, and all kinds of not-what-I-wanted. This is why I've never come close to cutting my hair that short ever again. But, it was in style at the time I guess, right? I wanted to try it. And now I can look back, remember and laugh. 

My husband spoiled me this birthday week - dining out, shopping, a new watch. I am one lucky lady! I'm thankful for the thoughtful cards, sweet gifts and wishes from family and friends. My heart is blessed by all of you. You sure know how to make me feel special! I thank God for every one of you. Thank you for being in my life. 

I'm looking forward to whatever God had in store for me this year!