High Heels Mysteries

One of my favorite birthdays gifts, is this series of books. I got them from my sister. Who read them all, last Fall. She kept telling me, that they were AMAZING! So fun. And I NEEDED to read them. All of them. But every time I went to Barnes and Noble, I got distracted. And forgot to look for them.



My sister got them for me, for my birthday. I'm almost done with the first one. This book, is the last in the series. They're all about one main character. Who is a very girly girl. These are murder mystery type of books. Something very different, from what I normally read. But I have to say this, Gemma's books are a nice break from real life. :)

~Manders

Cuddly Crochet

Not long ago, Lola was working on some cute presents. Baby Shower gifts. But to me, the little animals, would be perfect for my kiddos! When I asked her, where she got the patterns, she immediately pulled out this book!



Oh, goodness! These are cute patterns. And this book is AMAZING! I just can't find it anywhere. And that makes me sad. I was shocked, to find it out of stock, on Amazon. I guess, I just have to keep searching for it...

~Manders

If I Could Knit...

I'd make this Bunny Hat and Booties set. So adorable!! Couldn't you just see a precious baby girl, in this hat. And these booties, are just too cut for words! If I could knit, I'd make this, for a sweet baby girl. That is soon to make her appearance in our family!

~Manders

Happy Easter!

Our family wanted to wish all of you, a very Happy Easter! What a blessed day this is! We're looking forward to celebrating our dear Lord. And spending plenty of time, with our family and friends!

I just might have baked a few of these cakes. And have tons of food, for later. The Easter bunny has visited. And we have our Sunday Best ready! Our family from Texas, has been visiting. And we hope to have an amazing day with them! Happy Easter!

~Manders

Bones

I've waited and waited. And waited some more! I've been so patient! And Monday night, didn't disappoint! Not one bit!!



Did anyone else catch Bones? It was so good! And I hope this means, a few more seasons. :) I can't wait to see how Bones, really interacts with Baby Christine.

Funny thing is, I never watched this show. Not until about a year ago. When Lola got me hooked. Then I suddenly had to watch every episode. I've seen them all twice! And now, I'm hooked! What's one of your favorite, must see TV shows?

~Manders

Big Girl Shoes

Recently, I was searching the internet. For a little inspiration. A little fun. Something to add to my wardrobe. And this is what I found...



Oh wow! The perfect shoes! With a CRAZY price tag attached. I'd LOVE this shoes. Maybe in another lifetime. Because I just can't get past that price tag!

Pink, sparkly, red bottoms, high heels...what more could you ask for? If I had a pair of these, I'd be a little worried, that I'd on my way to Baby #4! :) But aren't they gorgeous?!? One can dream....

~Manders

Stylish Baby!

I'm always telling my sister, that she should have a baby. I know, I'm a bad influence! But she's been married nearly 2 years. And I know that she would be such a GREAT mom!

Lizzie likes to come and visit us, as often as she can. We live a couple of hours from each other, and she works full time. So it can get a little complicated sometimes. Being that she is usually off at the beginning of the week. And Lauren goes to school M-F.

But when T-Li, that's what my kiddos call her, comes over, it's always loads of fun! My sister is known to crawl into Lauren's playhouse, for hours of play. T-Li likes to dress up in a tutu and high heels, to pick up Lauren from dance practice. Heck, my sister runs through the sprinklers with the kids, 5 minutes before we leave for church! :)

I told you, she's fun. One of the things my girls like the most, is playing "dress up" with T-Li. She ALWAYS brings my kids new, and very stylish clothes. Fashion is very important to my little sis. I tell her, she need a baby, to dress up too!



This hat just reminds me of my sister. I can just imagine it. If Lizzie were to have a little boy, she'd dress him up in little button up shirts, and the hippest hats. Probably with little loafers. Forget it, if she had a little girl!

But I guess I'm just dreaming now. I'd LOVE it, if my little sister would have a baby. But I know that's not in her immediate plans. That's OK. But I'm pretty sure, I'm going to make this hat. And save it. Maybe a little "lovebird" will come sooner than later! :)

~Manders

Crochet Along: Week 6

Welcome Back! It's our last week,of this Crochet Along. And I for one, am very excited! How about you? Our goal for the week, is the edging. :) That's it! And we're done with our Bunny Blankets!!!

Lola has been working on 2 separate blankets. And finished 1, over the weekend. Lola will be posting some tips, for the edging today. I'd definitely go over to her blog, to read up. I'm sure it will be helpful, before you start your edging.



This has been a very fun project to work on! And I can't wait, to wrap up my blanket, for a precious new baby! Hopefully, very soon, Lola and I will get another Crochet Along started. If you're interested, come back soon. Please send us your project ideas! We'd love to hear all about them. Now, all that's left, is to finish our blankets. And enjoy them! Thanks for all the fun! :)

~Manders

New in 2012: Bunny Cake

My new thing this week, was making this Bunny Cake. I'm not a "fancy" baker. I make cupcakes, pies, cookies, cakes, etc. But nothing too fancy. Not shaped. Not bunnies. No fancy piping.

But this week, a few friends and I, decided to meet for a "Lunch and Play Date." For us and our kids. And I wanted to make something fun. Interesting. And something "Spring-y."

Lola pointed me to this recipe. Which was amazing! Now I feel like, I should have been doing this years ago! There were a few "challenging" things, but it was overall super easy! How could it not be? You use a box cake, and store bought frosting!



The thing I learned about making this cake was, to be a little patient. :) And to bake it, when my kiddos were napping. That worked perfectly! After I baked the cake, and "shaped it," I stuck it in the freezer. Just like the instructions said. It made frosting, and decorating it, so much easier!

Now that I've tackled one cake, I might try something else! I don't know. Something fun for Mother's Day. But I know one thing, I'll definitely be baking this cake, for Easter. I'm sure my family will enjoy it!

~Manders

If Only I Could Find This Dress...

I'd be such a HAPPY Lady!!! I just LOVE this dress. I found it, somewhere on Pinterest. But there was no source. Now I can't even find that Pinterest source. And I've spent way too many hours, searching for this dress! But I can't help myself! I just adore the color, style, and print of this dress. If only I could find it!

~Manders

Eyelet Love!

I have a little confession to make. I've been searching, for an eyelet dress, for a while now. More than a year, to be honest. It all started when I saw my sister, wearing on. It was last summer. And she paired it, with some roughed up boots, and turquoise jewelry.

Since then, I've been wanting, a similar dress. Well, sort of. I was looking for something a little more, simple. I've always liked eyelet. In fact, my daughters, each have 5 dresses, made of eyelet! So I searched. With not luck. Until, I went shopping at Forever 21! And I found my dress!



The best part, it was on sale for $15. I've found it here, listed for $27.80. I don't think, I've been this excited about clothes, in years! Let's not tell Billy, I bought a few more things too! OK, a lot of stuff. As in 4 bags. :) But honestly, I had just cleaned out our closet. And was left with little clothes for summer. Oh, it was a good trip to Forever 21!

~Manders

Little Chaps

My nephew is nearly 6 months old. I can't believe it! Where has the time gone? I wish that we could see him more often. But with Lauren in school, well we just don't get to Texas as much as we'd like.

But our little buddy is getting big. And scooting around. If you haven't noticed by now...my hubby is a cowboy. A genuine cowboy! He used to be a bull rider. No lie! Thank goodness he was ending that chapter of his life, when we met. But it's an important part of our life.

With that being said, Lauren has been "Mutton Busting" for a few years. Robbie, loves to chase animals around the yard. Abby is the only one, that is happy, to just look at the animals. But we still love to dress up our kiddos. They have many pairs of Wranglers...and boots!

I got to thinking. I want to make my nephew something. Something that is "western" inspired. Cute. And that is useful. Remember I told you that he's nearly 6 months old? He's getting mobile now. So this pattern...well it just made me smile!



A pair of chaps! Perfection! My brother-in-law is totally a cowboy. Wears chaps every day. I think these would be incredible for our nephew. :) Perfect to put over his little jeans, as he crawls around the porch.

Another thing, I think you should check out Cobbler's Cabin. It's a great blog! Full of A-M-A-Z-I-N-G patterns. That I want to try out. Especially this sweater. I think it would look nice in navy. Just go see this wonderful blog. You won't regret it!

~Manders

Crochet Along: Week 5

Hi Crochet Along Pals! How are your blankets going? Mine is going well. I'm actually +5 rows right now. I got lots of crocheting done, while traveling this weekend. :)

This week is big! We're working on rows 67-87. That's our last "bunny block!" Essentially, the same set of work, that we did Week 3. At the end of this week, we'll be done with the blocks!



I'm very excited. Actually, the baby I'm making this for, is almost here. So I better get working! Life has just been so busy. Literally, the second half of March, is always crazy for us! Our 3 kids have birthdays. We have a lot of traveling. And many of our friends' kids have birthdays too! Hopefully, I get my blanket finished. :)

~Manders

New in 2012: Easter Shapes Bows

Recently, I've been searching on Etsy a lot! Because I had a lot of shopping, for my kiddos' birthdays to do. :) That's when I came across something very fun! And I just had to have them. For my girls! But the shop is on "vacation." And I didn't know of a way to get in touch with the seller....



Just look at this cute bunny hair clip. Perfect for Easter! Perfect for my girls. Heck, I would even wear it. :)



And this chickie. Oh, she is cute! Abby absolutely fell IN LOVE with it! So much, she even told J. :)

Well, I couldn't find the seller. I googled lots of things. That's when I found the blog, to go with the shop! I was so excited! I also found something fun....



A tutorial for this egg clip. :) Oh yes, I did! I've never worked with ribbon. Honestly, I'm one of those people, that get suckered into paying $12-15 a bow. It's crazy!

I once bought a tutorial set, on eBay. For bow making. There were 3 or 4 booklets, full of tutorials. Great tutorials! I bought them, while I was pregnant with Lauren. And I NEVER made one!

I half heartily tried to make one. But I got frustrated. It probably wasn't wise, to make the bows outside. On a pretty breezy day. I'm just saying, it wasn't a good mix. Then, I'd go shopping with my MIL and SIL, and they'd just buy a bunch of bows. Lauren was well stocked. With genuine Texas sized bows!

When we came back, Lauren was just weeks old. I started buying the bows online. And in little shops. I never attempted bow making again. It's sad, but true. Later, when Abby was born, Lauren had plenty to share! And my love of Etsy provided the rest! :)

Well, when I saw this tutorial, I just had to try it. I bought a bunch of ribbon. Way more than I'd need. :) And one of those nifty tools, that Kyla used. And I sort of prayed, that the Funky Polka Dot Giraffe would open. And soon!

But it didn't. So on Tuesday night, after our kiddos were in bed, I started. And it didn't take too long. I'm sure, my 2 bows in 1 hour, is way longer than most. But they were my 1st 2 bows. By the end of the news, I had a bow for each of my daughters. I was so excited!

Billy encouraged me. He told me, "I bet you could make those other 2. They don't look much different from that egg. Ya know what I mean?" I did. Basically, the chick has a head a wings, plus that egg that I already made. And the bunny is just a head with big ears, and that same egg.

Last night, I sat down again. And in 90 minutes, I made 2 bunnies, and 2 chicks. :) I was over the moon, in excitement! Lauren and Abby wore their chicks today. And Lauren asked me, to make one for Maribel. Her BFF! Let's just say, my daughters were so happy! And they now think, I can hang the moon.

This was one fun experience. And I honestly can't wait, to make more creations. :) I even dug out those old tutorials, that I had bought. I have a feeling, that I'll be buying much more ribbon, in my near future. Especially, since my daughters like their bows. I'm really glad, that I took a second chance at bow making!

~Manders

The Train

A while back, Lola was telling me about this AMAZING train! That is just a few hours away. And they specialize, in a "Child's Ride." On this, real train. An old fashioned train! Lola and this guy, went on the "Adult version," of the train ride. Back in October. And they loved it!



So I did some research. The train runs from the late Spring, well into Fall. And it sounds like a great idea! The regular ride, is an all day adventure. But the "Kid Version," is just an afternoon. After talking with Billy, we made reservations. I'm positive, that the kids are going to love it!

Between, we're going to stay in a cute, mountain town. For a couple of days. And our friends, Sals and David, are also going on the train! I'm not sure, when they booked their trip. But I sorta hope, that we're all going, at the same time. I think it would be so much fun! 8 kids, and 4 adults. On an open car train. In the mountains. I'm already so excited!

And honestly, I can't wait to see Robbie, on the train. I feel like, so much of the time, he gets stuck doing "Girl Things." Because he has 2 big sisters. And much of the time, we're doing things, that Lauren enjoys. This is definitely, a much more "Boy Oriented" activity. But something, that I'm positive, all of us will enjoy! We've already started counting down...we go in June!

~Manders