Inspiration Friday: Quiet Books

I have long wanted to make a "quiet book," and now I am thinking that I'd better get started!  I have done a lot of poking around on the internet to see what kinds of ideas other people have incorporated into the quiet books.  In my opinion, the best pages involve different levels of activities that kids can do at various developmental stages.  And some variety in the difficulty of tasks among the various pages is good too.  This is a video I first looked at probably over a year ago, and it is still one of the best that I've seen!

Now I just need to figure out how to execute the actual book once the pages are made.  Has anyone made a quiet book (or other cloth book) who has suggestions or would like to share their creations?

Inspiration Friday - Diamonds

Because the projects I want to work on far outnumber the time I have for quilting these days, I thought I would share some inspiration gathered from the blogosphere over the years.  Today's focus:  Diamonds!  I love the preppy playfulness of these quilts.  There are a few different formats shown here, but all showcase the bright colors of the main fabrics with negative space. 

Also, did you spot that the fabric in the lower right corner example is the same as used in our nursery?  I didn't until today.  I must be subconsciously drawn to this line!

(These are photos saved to my harddrive off of various blogs and website, so I don't have proper attribution information (sorry!).)

Make and Freeze Meals - Chicken and Rice with Mushrooms

It can be hard to know what to do or how to help when a loved one is sick or hurting.  One thing that can help is to make some meals that can be frozen and brought out and reheated when needed.  I still find this extremely helpful a year after having a baby, but it was critical to helping me eat nutritious meals to get back on my feet quickly in those first few days and weeks after the labor and delivery!

Here is one great make and freeze meal.  It is designed to be soft and easy to eat, without strong flavors.  But you could add flavor by including scallions with the sauted mushrooms, and poultry spices and curry when mixing the casserole together.  If texture is not an issue, you could also crumble Ritz crackers for the topping.

Chicken and Rice with Mushrooms:

Ingredients:

- 2 chicken breasts

- 2c white rice

- 2T butter

- 1 8oz package of sliced mushrooms

- Can of cream of mushroom soup

- 4oz tub of sour cream

- Poach the chicken breasts in boiling water.  When they are fully cooked, remove.  Allow to cool and then shred.

- Cook the rice according to the directions.

- Meanwhile, saute the mushrooms in butter.

- Add rice and chicken to sauted mushrooms.  Stir in can of soup and sour cream.  Add seasonings if desired.

- Transfer to a freezer and oven-safe container.  I think these from Hefty are great, because they can be tossed after the meal is eaten - no washing or storage of the pan.

- Cover with foil.  Freeze.

- To reheat, thaw in the fridge for a day.  Then cook in a 350-degree oven for an hour or until hot throughout.  Remember to put a post-it note with instructions on the top of the container so the recipient will know how to enjoy your meal!

 

Completed - Celtic Garden Quilt!

I actually finally finished this quilt a few months ago, but only have now gotten around to posting about it.  We've had a few things going on!  I love the way the quilt coordinates with the tulle canopy.  

 After we delivered this quilt, the walls were repainted a very faint lavender color, which looks beautiful.

I was so happy to finish this quilt - both because it was by far the biggest project I have ever taken on, but even more so because it was so warmly received.  I think this is my favorite thank-you card I have ever received:

It almost makes me want to continue making queen size quilts! . . . Almost.

Homemade Finger Food

Now that our little sweet pea insists of feeding herself, we've been experimenting with different combinations of finger foods.  We have done all kinds of whole fruits and vegetables, cheese sticks, and crackers.  Now it's time to transition into more adult foods and flavors.  This recipe is healthy, tasty, and combines lean protein with vegetables.  (Remember to introduce foods individually to your baby to check for any allergies.)

Ingredients:
- 2 T olive oil
- 1c shredded carrots
- 1c frozen peas
- 1c lentils (I like the tiny orange lentils)
- Seasonings of your choice (I use 1T McCormick Grill Mates, Monterrey Chicken seasoning mix)
-  2c water
- 1 egg
- 1/4c breadcrumbs + 1/4c whole milk


Directions:
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan.  Add the carrots and peas, and saute until just starting to soften.
- Add lentils, water, and seasonings, and stir.  Cover and simmer until lentils are just cooked, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl, and whisk together.
- When the breadcrumbs have absorbed the milk, whisk in the egg.
- After the lentils are cooked, pulse with an immersion blender, pulse a couple of times to desired smoothness.
- When the lentil mixture has cooled slightly, add the egg mixture.  Stir. to combine.
- Spoon mixture into a mini muffin tin.  Cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until set.
- Cool and serve!

Reading Time

Best books for under-one-year-olds:

- Where's Spot (once babies start figuring out how to look under the flaps, it's great fun)

- Moo, Baa, La La La, Sandra Burton (fun for everyone, and has silly sounds for little ears)

- Goodnight Moon (there's a reason it's a classic!)

- The Very Hungry Caterpillar board book (it has little holes for tiny fingers)

- Pat the Bunny (our little Bug has completely torn hers apart, but it's only because she loves it!)

 

My dear friend Elle over at www.elle-mental.blogspot.com made this beautiful quilt for us out of the fabric I picked for the nursery.  A quick pillow cover and a cheap pillow insert from Joanne's completes our reading spot.  It is cozy for us to curl up on the quilt and read a few of our favorite books.

Choices . . .

I am now officially on maternity leave, although still finishing up a few things at the office until the baby actually arrives.  I had the chance to put together these squares for a quilt top out of scraps from the nursery fabric.  The only hard part is choosing how to put the blocks together!  Here are a few of many options:

Quilt for Baby Marcella Anne

I am so blessed to have a wonderful group of girlfriends from college.  My sophomore year roommate, Heather, is also pregnant!  Her little girl is due to be born on Thanksgiving Day.  Two weeks ago our Notre Dame friends threw a fabulous baby shower for us in South Bend!

The whole weekend was perfect.  Here are just two pictures - Heather opening the baby quilt I made for her and her daughter, Marcella ("Ella") Anne and the tiny hat that Heather's husband, Dan, knit for us! 

 

New Bathroom!

Here are a few before and after pictures of our upstairs hall bathroom!  While doing the renovation, the contractors found a newspaper from the 1970s in the wall.... clearly the last time the bathroom was touched!

The old tile was horrible blue all the way up the walls.  However, after we moved in, we discovered that there was no cement board or other waterproofing layer behind the tile.  As a result, water had found its way through cracks in the old grout into the wall and was causing a little bit of water damage in the wall.  

 

The new shower actually has all of the plumbing in the wall, instead of this weird hand-held showerhead. 

I also love the "nook" that Gene installed in the front of the shower.  He had to route the plumbing around the shelf, but it turned out great and is so convenient to have right in the front of the shower.

I think Cillian was a little sad to see this old sink go, but it is so much better to have the new sink and vanity for storage below.

This picture is a watercolor of the local one-screen theater in our neighborhood.  It looks perfect with the new bathroom.

Southwest Waterfront Fish Market

The southwest waterfront has a number of mediocre restaurants and bars, but it also has a colorful and lively seafood market.

This is a spot that not a lot of visitors to DC get to see, even though it is a very short distance from the Mall and the Smithsonian museums.  Some of the highlights are the bushels and bushels of blueshell crab, sorted by sex and size, still alive as they're being pulled out to fill orders.  If you're in DC on a weekend with a little extra time, this is definitely something different to see.