Warhol Dress, the Emma way

I have been dying to make the Warhol dress that Dana from Made posted forever ago.  I also have been dying to do something with all these shirts I 'stole' from my sister, you might remember from this post.  Well, I printed it out and it didn't really fit together right (this is a recurring problem, so I'm confident it is on my end, not Dana's), but I pieced it together anyway and laid it on the shirt.  Fit pretty well, but I was feeling lazy and didn't want to sew side seams, so I just left the sides together and basically loped of the top (would it kill me to take a pic? maybe).  Then I used the shoulder straps for the yoke, which really didn't work, but I kinda forced it to do what I wanted.  And here is how it turned out:

Before. (Sorry, Blogger won't let me turn it, so just tilt your head to the left)

After.

Back View.
Please don't kick your books, Emma.

Much better, books are for reading, silly.

Nice. How lady-like.

Put your dress down, girl!

Best Butter Substitute!

Not cheap, but order through my link with subscribe and save and get them half off!

Forget margarine, forget I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, the best butter substitute is coconut oil.  Hands down, this is the best! I have been cooking with it for about a year now, and have not turned back.  We use coconut oil (also found by the name coconut butter) for not only everything that calls for butter or oil, but also as body lotion.
Why is is so good, you ask?

1.  It smells amazing! Every time I cook, the kitchen smells like we are on some exotic island (who wouldn't want their house to smell that way?)  When used as lotion, you smell all islandy and summery, yummy!
2.  I suppose some would say the second reason is a better reason to use it, but I would use it just for the smell.  We are programmed to believe that ALL fat is bad, but this is a myth.  You actually need fat in your diet to have silky hair, smooth skin, and to lose weight.  I know it seems counter-intuitive to think that you have to eat fat to lose fat, but its true.  Mostly.  Maybe some day I will write about fats on a molecular level, but for now, lets just call it good and bad fat.   Some examples of good fats would be Omega - 3's, monounsaturated, and the saturated fat that is coconut oil.  Omega - 3's can be found in fish and flaxseed.  Monounsaturated fats can be found in olive oil, almonds, and avocados.  Coconut oil is kind of in a category of it own because most saturated fats are considered "bad fats", but because coconut oil contains no cholesterol, and is full of Lauric-acid it actually supports your metabolism.  I could write about this all day, but you would be bored silly, so just try it instead!
3.  The third point I want to make is how good it is when used on the outside of your body.  My hair is very long and has some serious split ends.  Recently, I ran out of my favorite conditioner and used coconut oil instead.  Weird, I know, but it actually worked!!!! The ends of my hair look so much better now.  I do still need a hair cut, but until I see my hairtician (aka Emily), this will do.  I also use it as a general skin moisturizer.  Use it right after shaving, and no next day itch.  AMAZING!

I will point out that I was not paid to write about this product, but if you use my link to order it, I do receive a (very small) portion of the proceeds.  That being said, I just think coconut oil is amazing and it does so much in terms of healing and it seems that everyone I know is in need of a "miracle drug", and this just might be it!

If you would like to know more, here is a great informational site: http://www.coconutoil.com/research.htm

Newborn Baby Pants?

Since potty training, we have had issues with Emma's pants fitting.  Previously, we were using cloth diapers, which are bulky, and in our case were used to keep pants up.  For the last several months (since her second birthday), I have been trying to figure out what to do about it. I am so sick of putting darts in all her pants, but it seems pretty inevitable that for the foreseeable future that will be my life.
I did, however, try my hand making our own.  I used Rae's Newborn Baby Pants pattern, but they really needed more in the rise and length.  Since we are finally getting warm weather, I decided to leave the length alone and have capri's.  I did have to add a waistband to get some added rise.  Next time I will just add more in the pattern to the rise, and also I would like to give them a little flare. Anyway, here is my version:

I wanted to wake her up to for a photo shoot, but that could not go well.....

"Emma, if you say cheese, you can have some candy"

"CHEESE!!!"

And she's already forgotten about the candy, hehe.

New Addiction:

Fabric flowers!

Memorial Weekend Fun

We had a pretty scarey storm here Sunday, but it lasted less than an hour and we got to have SO much fun afterwards:

Rain boots lasted about 3minutes before everyone had to be barefoot.

"HMMM, I guess getting dirty isn't so bad."

"Water!!!"

I just had to get a picture of her curls.

Kicking, kicking, kicking

WHEEEE!!!!

AGAIN!!!

"Hey, Dad. What are you doing?"

"GOTCHA!"

That is a squeal of joy, believe it or not!

"YEA, mud!"

"This is soooo AWESOME!"

Not lovin' it as much as we thought he would, lol.

Throwing mud balls should be a new Olympic sport in Emma's opinion.

mmmmmm Dirt ball.

Skirts 'n stuff

Several weeks ago Dana at made post a tut for really easy "simple skirts". I made matching ones for the girls. I supposed I should have prefaced with how I couldn't decide how I wanted to use the 1 yd of cutest fabric ever. I am totally kicking myself for not buying more of this awesome Michael miller print. I just couldn't decide how I wanted to use it and was a bit afraid that I would screw up whatever it was a chose to use it for and be forever devastated (especially since I got it from a local store for $6/yd and can now only find it for $12/yd).
The local fabric store, Fields, does these awesome specials where they will randomly put designers fabrics for $5.97/yd. I have not made the mistake again of only getting a yard. Sorry for the digression.
Without further adieu, presenting the simple skirt:

Pinafore Dress/Shirt - Updated

In my last post, I had said that Emma was finally growing out of 12-18 month clothing, alas, I was mistaken.  I got out all her summer clothing from last year and it still fits.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mind saving money and not having to purchase a new summer wardrobe for my little monster, but I am kind of sick of looking at the same clothes she wore all last summer.
Enter Maggie of Smashed Peas and Carrots.  She has some serious skills.  I stole borrowed her pattern for a pinafore dress that she made for her baby.  It totally fit her little as a dress, but I thought it could work for Emma in shirt form.  A nice, breezy shirt for the humid summer.

 Cute, Right???? :)
Great job on the pattern, Smashed Peas and Carrots, and more importantly, thank you for sharing!
Finally, a warm enough day to wear this shirt/dress:

On another note, I wanted to post some cute Meijer pics of Emma (gotta love their penny ponies):

OOOOOO! Horse, Mommy!

"Emma put your arm up, ride 'em cowgirl!"

"Your arm, not your feet, Silly"

"There ya go"

"Uh-Oh, over" :(

A sad moment in the life of a two year old when Mommy can't find anymore pennies.

Ps, that top was being borrowed by some friend's of ours (old one of Emma's size 6-12month), and their ten month old just outgrew it.  Emma found it and had to wear it, because at two, "Emmie do it self".
"sigh".......