The Most Adorable Fabric Ever

Every time I look at this fabric, I am still so in love with it! I bought it over a year ago, and I bought all that was left at JoAnn's! (I'm sure they have since restocked, many times.) Then it sat in my closet because it was just too gorgeous to do anything with. Everyone I asked mentioned pillows (not really our color scheme), or an apron (I have an adorable one from my mother!), and so I inevitably thought of a skirt, since I seem to make more of those than anything else.

I used this tutorial from Freshly Picked as my inspiration, but I kind of just winged it as well. I think it's truly the best use of this fabric. I used almost the entire amount - it's 3 times the circumference of my waist, and I love the giant and simple elastic on top. It was super simple to make - just cut, sew together, gather, and sew to elastic! I feel a little silly whenever I wear it just because it is so big and bright and full, but I really really love it at the same time and I think it's the best constructed skirt I've made yet! I tried to be so careful in my cutting and sewing, and it really paid off.

Bedroom Wall - Finally Bare No More!

I finally took the plunge and did something with the wall above our bed! I've been looking for some kind of headboard or wall art ever since we moved in, but I really didn't want to spend a ton of money. (Story of our lives!) After painting the striped canvases for our living room, I knew I didn't want to buy more canvases because they are quite pricey. When I stumbled upon this wall art using vinyl and moulding from Ooh Baby Designs, I knew it was meant to be on our wall! I feel like this is really my decorating style - simple.

I've always had trouble with vinyl decorations because I feel like they're so cheesy. I tend to dislike all the cliché sayings. But I really wanted this wall art, and so I found the most acceptable one at Bed Bath & Beyond and just went with it. I found these thin pieces of wood moulding at Michaels and painted them blue with leftover paint from our striped canvases. I can't believe I waited over a year for this 20-ish minute project!

I always read other bloggers' posts and think about how everyone is such a expert on the things they blog about. Will I ever be this way? Will I tell random stories about my life all while showing off gorgeous pictures of my food? Will I try out a million recipes and learn the chemistry behind baking just so I can create the perfect cookie recipe? The answer is...maybe? But for now at least, I still consider myself a very non-expert in everything on this blog. Case in point: How hard should it be to nail in 4 pieces of straight wood for a frame? And yet, there's a hole in my rectangle here. Next time, self, attach the 4 pieces into a triangle before nailing them to the wall! I guess for now I'll still be learning as I try out each new project on this blog. :)

Chipotle Dinner - Success!

I've only been to Chipotle once, but holy cow is it delicious! It's one of my husband's favorite places and we don't have one super cloase, so I've been wanting to make it for dinner forever. I'm always hesitant to buy ingredients that are outside my comfort zone, so it takes me a long time to build up the courage to try a new recipe!

I used the recipes from ChipotleFan.com, specifically the corn salsa (didn't use poblano chilis, and just used green jalapenos) and steak marinade. My husband doesn't actually like Chipotle in burrito form (he's crazy!) so we just had the steak and corn salsa, and paired them with cilantro lime rice and pinto beans. I've made various forms of these foods before, but I've never used pinto beans before- and I think they really made this taste just like Chipotle! I'm not a bean lover, but I think I'm warming up to them for some dishes at least.

The corn salsa and rice were absolutely perfect. The steak was overcooked, but of course that's my fault...and a fault that I can't seem to overcome! I cooked it on our George Foreman grill, and I only cooked it for about 4 minutes, but that was still too long! Next time, I'll be sure to watch the steak closely so we can have it nice and tender. Overall, we loved this, and next time I'm breaking out the tortillas for sure. :)