The Stuff of Guff

Maybe I'm weird. Of course I am. But is it weird that I almost always prefer handmade gifts? Well, My goal here is to make handmade baby things with real love, and hope that there are others who love handmade gifts as much as I do. I also want to be practical. I can't spend $50 on a lovey blanket- as much as I'd 'lovey' to- {shout out to nona}- So I don't expect you to, either. My motto? I create on a budget so you can buy on a budget. My things aren't perfectly square. You can see a little stitching. Yes, I recycle fabric. But I am proud of every piece. Or I wouldn't sell it. Ok, maybe I would for like a dollar. Anyway. Point is, I want to do something that's fun for me. I've never had a career and I have always wanted to do something that I am actually passionate about and something that I enjoy. Here's my have at it. I haven't opened shop yet, but I have put the items up for grabs here on the blog. Check out my new page above- "Guff Stuff". They aren't itemized, described, named or priced yet. Just wanted to get some feedback first- from ya'll and other friends that have Etsy shops and the husband- business connoisseur that he is. So. That's what I have been working on... for the last two days. I need new fabric desperately, and since I am going thrifting in Chattanooga this weekend I think I'll grab some.
Here's an example of my before/after:

 small lovey with one of my favorite fabrics

kick blanket with a pretty garden of flowers. I left the bottom of the sweater on this one- Perfect for a monogram. 



Go check out the rest for yourself! And tell me what you think. I'm a big advocate of brutal honesty. 

Until Next Time,
The Guff

Tooth for a Tooth

Chamblee has two adorable bottom teeth. She doesn't like people looking at them, but I snuck a peek and got a few shots:

I took the silly tongue out as "Ok, mom. You've seen enough. You're welcome. Now quit snapping shots before I get mad." So I quit. But aren't they just precious?! 

I spent the whole weekend on the couch. I was just so tired all weekend so I stayed curled in the same spot with the same blanket for two days in a row. Now I am back on duty. Sunday I was able to get some sewing pinning done. I cut out and pinned about ten different blankets, loveys and crinkle toys. I'll let ya'll see the finished products before I decide if I am opening shop or not. Can't decide.

Did any of you moms have issues with separation anxiety? Cham seems to be having some serious issue with it. She won't nap in her bed anymore, she totally freaks if I leave the room for one second- but she's fine if I peek my head around the corner. It's like she is so scared I am going to leave her and not come back. I don't think it's me. She just doesn't like being left alone :( I don't know what to do about it or how to break her of it. Help!!!

And really, I am having separation anxiety, too. From my niece. Tomorrow I am going to Athens to see her. Oh, and the Avett Brothers. Chamblee's jealous. I have this weird things that my house has to be cleaned and all laundry done before I leave it. Ever. So I better get on that.

Until Next Time,
The Guff

My Estest!

Happy Birthday to my Bestest Estest Friend!!!

Love you!

Until Next Time,
The Guff

No Problema

I've got a problem. A few of them, actually.

First of all, I left my hairbrush {I'm pretty sure} at my sis in law's house. I haven't brushed my hair in 3 days. for real. But yesterday I went and got my hair did, so my hairdresser brushed it. But not the day before, and not today. Well, that's not true. Tonight I used my little girl's comb. It took. For. Ever.

I kinda bent the bristles a little, too. Oops. 

I can't believe there's not an extra brush in this house! I am going out tomorrow and buying three. Just in case this happens again. 

My other problem? Shoes. Little girl shoes. I haven't bought myself a new pair of shoes in a long while- but I can't resist a size 2 sandal for my Ophie:

 

I'm dying. Don't ask me how her silver party shoes got scuffed... I mean, the girl doesn't even walk! 

But I do. Oh my mercy. I am going to be so. sore. tomorrow. Ophie and I walked about 3.2 miles this morning... I just kept getting lost in my neighborhood. {not really lost, just going ways I had never gone before} It is so much fun to walk with her. She sings, the wind blows through her little blond hairs, she "waves" at the trees and then she takes a long, satisfying nap until we arrive home. I would almost not classify it as walking- because I am going so fast. I am almost running. Except I'm not. Last time I tried to run I felt things jiggling that I never had before, so I decided until I was back to no-jiggle-nat I was walking. And fast. So far I have lost 8 pounds! Woop. And ya can't even tell. Whatever.

Oh, right. My 3rd problem. My new niece. Ruined my lent. I was doing so good with the whole no Facebook thing and then her mom and dad started posting these cute pictures of her on Facebook. So now I'm back to checking it every 5 minutes to see if there's a new picture or video. Oopsie. 

Until Next Time, 

The Guff

Hip Hip...

Hooray!
This might be the longest post I ever write- There's just so much going on! And so many pictures on my camera to share...
First, and most importantly, I am an Aunt AGAIN!!! My brother and his sweet wife {and also my friend} had a beautiful, healthy, very much loved little girl on Sunday. Her name is Singer Huntington and she rocks. She's a little chunky monkey and her little chubbs are pretty much the cutest things I have ever seen. We were on our way to church Sunday morning when we got the call that there was potential for a baby. We made a U-turn, packed our bags and less than 12 hours later she was here. Hooray for Singer!
And congrats to my big brother and his incredibly strong wife. Can't think of a better thing to celebrate!

Chamblee was a trooper... here's how she waited for her new baby cousin:

Don't know what I would have done without the baby bjorn. Or owlie... Or a husband who doesn't mind lying flat so Cham thinks she's sleeping in her bed. How. Sweet. 

Oh, the Grandpas waited, too. 

And when I got to hold my teeny weeny niece it was just so sweet. I love her so much already! 

The call from my brother Sunday morning made me kick it in to high gear. I had bought some fabric to make SHB a few things but just hadn't gotten around to it. So I took about 30 minutes and made these:

A super soft, super small lovey blanket and a crinkle-y little UGA fleece toy with tags. {I just stuffed my plastic shopping bag inside for crinkle} I was so glad to be able to get them done in no time. When we got back home on Monday I was motivated to create a few more things while sewing was fresh on my mind. So, I made Ophie a new double-sided blanket:

I am obsessed with my embroidery machine! Ah! 

I have decided that jersey and that puckered fleece whatever fabric are the BEST fabrics to make any. thing. for babies. If you are having a baby then you are probably going to get something like this. from me. It's just too soft to even explain. I want to make myself one. Well, she loved it. She held it and held it until she didn't anymore. And then, I wanted to paint. You see, I bought these picture frames. I am in love with them, and I finally hung them in my dining room: 

But nothing in there matches these wonderful frames. {Yes, there are empty frames hanging on my walls. Pictures have been ordered!} So. I decided to make something to match. A few weeks ago I went to this "Canvas & Cocktails" party with friends and it inspired me. I thought, "I can paint my own art for my own house. Why not?" Wow. Wrong. But I did try. Here's what happened:

Hm. Not too bad, but not really what I was going for. Where is Lori when I need her?!! The color matches the frames to a T, so I am just leaving them until I decide what I am going to paint over them. And yes, I need a new curtain now:) 

After I painted I decided to cook dinner and unwind. Right. I was grilling chicken for our salad on the skillet and it would not stop smoking. Our smoke alarm went off. We opened all of the windows and doors and it was still so. crazy. smokey. I guess our alarm company called us, but we didn't hear our phones... so they sent the FIRE DEPARTMENT. To our house. So here I stand in my kitchen waving a towel at the smoke detector wearing nasty paint covered too-big clothes and in walk 3 big 'ol firemen asking what in the world I was doing. When I showed them my little rinky dink plate of chicken and told them that's what caused it--- --- --- I got 3 chuckles and an eye roll. I don't even know if it can get more embarrassing than that. K stayed in the living room shaking his head. Dinner was quiet. But delicious. :) You know what the worst part is? Our neighbor can't answer the door when I go over to introduce myself- but when a FIRE truck comes to my house he about breaks a leg to get to the front porch to watch. Lame. 

After that, I went upstairs to clean up my craft room and found some scrap fabric and decided to spruce up some boring ol' burp cloths. 

It's so easy. Here's how YOU can do it, too:

If you want to embroider, make sure you embroider the re-covering piece first. Load it in, and sew away. Make sure you pick a cool stitch!

 I started with just one, but they're so easy I found another scrap and fancied up a second one.

They aren't perfect {obviously} but they are so much cuter than before- and I like the handmade look! 

I am seriously considering opening up an Etsy shop just for fun. Thoughts?

Oh! I almost forgot! I made baby food today, too! Bananas and apples. 

More on that later! Hope you aren't bored. to. death.  by now. What a productive weekend!!! 

Until Next Time, 

The Guff

Besties

K's dog ate nails today. {I don't claim him often} He eats everything. I always "state-proof" the house before we go anywhere. Never did I think he would dig in to have a nail buffet.

Anyway. On Wednesdays I go to a friend's house and watch her two sweet little girls so she can do normal things without her hands full. Oh my, they are so cute.

They Play

They Hug

They Sleep usually all at once. Bless their little hearts!

They are besties. Adorable ones. 

I am so glad that Cham has some friends close by. She really, really enjoys playing with someone- other than me! They are 19 months, 7 months and 3.5 months old. I just love these little girls!

Until Next Time,
The Guff

Double Take

Yes, I know. Chamblee looks like her daddy. But doesn't she look a little like me?

baby me on the bottom

There's some serious teething going on in this house. It started Sunday with the constant crying of pain, and this morning I could actually see and feel her new little tooth. It's going to be adorable, but right now it's just misery. We just sit and cry together. I don't like seeing her in pain and there being nothing that I can do. Orajel is saving the day, but it doesn't last forever. I can't wait for the teeth to be in and the pain to be gone! Poor little baby. 

Yesterday she sat up on her own. We missed it. It went something like this: 

"Did you just sit her up?" 

"No. Did you?" 

"No. You're lying!"

"No I didn't!" 
"Oh my gah!!! We missed it!!!"


Shucks. We'll catch it next time :(

Until Then,
The Guff

What a Nightmare!

My new diet calls for a fruit smoothie for lunch. Hm. I don't have a blender. SO. I left this morning after breakfast to get one. My lucky day!

They were on clearance. Gotta love those orange stickers at Target! Feeling good, I stopped by the thrift store on the way home. Score! An old antique chair for $8.

Isn't she a beauty? Yes, the seat is atrocious, but it can be easily re-covered to match a runner. I just need to find the perfect fabric. I am obsessed with this chair!

I think I deserve all of this good fortune. Last night was a rough one. You see, sweet, precious, adorable little baby girl has slept for 11 hours or more every night since Christmas Eve. Hasn't skipped a beat. I have had almost 3 months of full. nights. sleep. Last night broke the streak. Kind of. She was having a tough night- not going to bed, fussy, but fighting the ride to dream land. We decided to feed her a little more and see if that would help. Of course, she fell asleep in my arms mid-feeding. So we did what all parents do. I made K stop everything that was making ANY noise in the house. He had to help me stand up as not to make any sudden movements. I took teeny weeny baby steps all the way across the house and up the stairs. I tried my best to lay her down and flip her over without her waking up. It worked. Then I finally took a breath. Fast forward to 1am and she is SCREAMING in the monitor. I think it's a bad dream and she will go back to sleep in a few...nope. Wrong. So I go get her and bring her in the bed with us. Bad. Move. I do love to snuggle with my little hoot, but geez louise she is a bed hog. So. She played around for a few minutes until I faked being asleep. When she thought everyone was asleep she finally went back to dreamland. Horizontally, of course. And I tried to salvage about 4 inches of the bed to sleep on. Geez. Louise! K made me a pot of coffee this morning and then I set out on my mission.

And that. is why I felt like I deserved this good fortune. Well that's what I get for thinking. I was gone for about a half hour, and came home. to. this:

What. Were. They. Thinking. My word, the dogs destroyed the bottom part of our house! They have never been trash eaters... I wish I had a hidden camera to see how this went down. There was trash EVERYWHERE! Roomba to the rescue! And bad dogs outside for the rest of the day. Boo hiss.

I am painting my dining room chairs today. I haven't posted about it, but I painted my table gray and the chairs yellow. Well..... I went to a show yesterday and bought some totally RAD picture frames and I want them in my dining room. They don't match the chairs, and I haven't been loving the yellow. So I am painting them. Probably a cream to match the curtains and the mirror in there. I'll be sure to show you when I am finished. Hey! Maybe I will remember to take before/after pictures. Wouldn't that be nice.

Tomorrow is going to be SO fun. I am going to Scott's Antique Market. Over 3300 booths! I smell trouble. Anyone want to come with? Right now it's just me and the baby girl. We have to get out of the house while K stains the stairs, so this is my way of killing 6 hours. Or more. This weekend is totally dedicated to house makeovers. Sure wish the sun would shine a little more!

Until Next Time,
The Guff

Ya Big Chicken

So last night I roasted a chicken. It took a really, really long time. Not because it took a long time to cook- but because there was some drama. By drama I mean that once I got the chicken out of the wrapper there was some nastiness inside of it. Wrapped in paper. I flipped. Then once I got the strength to reach in and take all that crap out of there, the chicken was so limp and gross and lifelike- I couldn't go back in there to do anything with it. It sat in the sink for a good half hour. I kept talking myself into it, walking back in there, picking it up then dropping it and running out of there again. It was so gross. I don't think I will ever make anything with a whole chicken again. I may never eat chicken again. It ended up being pretty good- really good, actually. But not good enough. Never. Again.

Are ya'll giving anything up for Lent? I am. A lot. It's going to be a GREAT 40 days! I have decided to give up food. I kid, I kid. But I am giving up a lot of food. No sweets and no beer or wine {hello vodka}.
Not only am I giving up food, but I am also making some lifestyle changes. Usually I am on Facebook pretty much ALL day. I am not giving it up, because I like to connect with my family through it and share pictures of Chamblee with people far, far away. BUT I am only allowing myself to check it 2 times a day- MAX. {that's so sad} And I also am only allowing myself to watch 2 TV shows during the day. {Again, it's sad} I usually have my shows recorded and watch them during the day while doing laundry or feeding Cham... or after I have done my cleaning I just sit. How. Lazy. No more! We are going walking, I'm organizing and cleaning better, we are finishing up this house, we are visiting friends more, {ESPECIALLY once wee b comes!} and we are going to do it all with music in the background- NOT tv! I don't even want to KNOW how much is going to get done around here! Excited. And nervous.

So. That's my Lent. I am hoping that with all of the extra time I will have while Cham is napping I can start a Bible Study and have some quiet time. We are re-visiting a church this Sunday and I hope that things go well. They have an awesome children's program and I know a lot of people that attend this church. I am skeptical of really big churches and feeling "at home" but I am giving it a chance.

Do ya'll have any plans this weekend? We are doing a bunch of craziness around this house. And waiting ;) Patiently, of course. Wee!!!

Until Next Time,
The Guff

Standing and Sleeping and Peas, Oh My!

Every mom says it: "I can't believe my baby is ___ weeks/months/years old!"

And I really can't. We didn't throw her a party this month, but we did have a big BIG day.

It started out with her standing up on her own. For the first time. Watch and listen below as I freak. out. one. time. 

I mean, how cool is that. I have watched it about a bajillion times. What happened to my little teeny bobble head baby? She's STANDING?!

We met a friend for lunch and Chamblee had her first bonafide fit in public. I do not blame her. She was hungry, and I had bought these tiny 3oz bottles of ready made formula for her that you just screw a nipple on and wah-lah. Easy peasy feeding on the spot. Unless the nipple won't stop leaking for no reason and so there's more formula going down her shirt and around the rolls of her neck than actually in her mouth. Poor baby. Somehow I made it work and she got enough lunch to hold her over until naptime:

Next we went home and she stood some more.

And lastly she had a wonderful dinner of peas. I guess I could have gotten her something a little more appetizing for her 7 month day, but I forgot. Oops. 

Anyway- She had a busy day. I love my little 7 month old baby girl! I honestly can't believe she's so big! And still so teeny weeny. Is it ridiculous that I started thinking about her 1st birthday this week? I feel like if I don't start getting things in order I will wait until the last minute and drop the ball!!! I need party ideas, and I need 'em quick like!

Until Next Time,
The Guff


ps. Next blog to explain how I might be a vegetarian the REST OF MY LIFE after my experience with chicken innards tonight. Oh. My. Nasty.