Surprise!!

Have you noticed I've been MIA the last few days?

Well folks, it's time to introduce baby girl Page! 

Priya Jean Page

(Pree-yuh)

She caught us all by surprise when I went into labor 3am Friday morning. She was born 1:15pm on Friday, July 29 2011. Weighing in at 7lb 10oz 19 inches long...exact same stats as her big brother!

I'm feeling great! In fact, I'm actually home from the hospital already (I checked out exactly 24 hours after she was born), and enjoying every minute of it. I figured,
"Hey, if I'm going to be sitting around, I'd rather be sitting around on my own couch."

(Yes, that is me without a lick of makeup on. I have no shame any more...)

I wasn't supposed to be induced until Monday so I was not only caught by surprise, but was caught completely unprepared! I was WAY too over confident that she wouldn't come until Monday. My son was 8 days late, and I was scheduled to be induced 1 week early with Priya because of my hernia. I never thought in a million years she'd come 18 days earlier than my son did!

Hence...

*My bags weren't packed

*My house wasn't cleaned

*I had no arrangements for my toddler

*My laundry was piled up

Yikes.

That's what I get for saving everything 'til the last minute.

Luckily my wonderful mom was able to put the pedal to the metal and drive to Utah from Oregon in record time. 

So while I wasn't able to get all the things done that I would've liked (such as scheduling posts for this site!) I'm thrilled to not be pregnant any more, and SO HAPPY to have such a happy, healthy, beautiful baby to snuggle all day long!

(In between wrangling my 18 month old, that is.)

Since I know you're curious...

how we came up with the name?

In college I spent a short time in India doing humanitarian work. I worked with a little girl named Priya, and she absolutely stole my heart!

 I not only felt a connection with her, but I just knew that someday I'd have a daughter named Priya. Though we told people we didn't know what we'd name her, we knew all along our baby girl would be named Priya. It just seemed right from the moment we found out I was pregnant!

My parents now sponsor Indian Priya so we get lots of updates of her and can't believe how big she's getting. We can't wait to send her pictures of the new baby!

Jean is my dad's mother's name. She passed away when he was about 20, so not even my mom ever got to meet her. My dad tells us that she was an amazing woman whom he admires very much, so we thought it fitting to give her a strong family name. 

Thus, Priya Jean Page it is!

Happy birthday Miss Priya Jean!

Quick, cheap & easy way to dress up your car seat...use ribbon!

I know today is typically "Replay Thursday" but baby girl is coming in 3 days (ahh!) and I have to finish sharing all the fun, cheap, or free projects I've been doing in preparation for her to come!

One of the things I wanted to do was

dress up the carseat 

so it was just a bit more feminine!

We got this car seat for my son and it has worked out great for us.

(it's a Graco Snugride 35, in case you're curious. We've liked it because we were able to use it in a pinch for him - even as a toddler - because it will carry up to 35lbs. The downside is that it's BIG, so when your child is an infant it's quite the bulky thing to carry around. Just thought I'd share!)

Anyway...

It was bugging me that it's a pretty masculine, car seat. Tan and cream are pretty neutral, but all the red made it look pretty boy-ish. Plus the fact that my husband loves the "manly racing stripes" going down the back of it.

I obviously didn't want to buy a new car seat (they are expensive!) and am not handy enough to make an entire cover for the seat (props to you if you are!), so I changed it as simply as possible. 

I removed the canopy, 

and took it to the craft store with me to find some coordinating ribbon. (Remember to always use a coupon!!)

I didn't want to sew it on and didn't want to use anything super permanent (in case my next baby is a boy). So I went for my beloved hot glue gun!

I added two tiny drops at the end,

...and continued all the way down the stripe. 

I added one little glue dot in the black center of each flower on my ribbon. Otherwise the glue would've shown through the ribbon because it's semi-sheer. 

 Perfect little touch of femininity.

Such a simple, temporary fix! 

The ribbon is adhered well, but I could most likely take it off for the next time I have a boy. 

See? Quick, cheap, easy.

PERFECTO.

Remember to get creative with your own items - always try to find ways to repurpose them before running out and buying new!

Check out today's coupons & deals!

Don't forget about our coupons & deals page! 

Every day I post great coupons and deals that I find, so be sure to subscribe to get the coupons sent directly to your email so you don't miss out on anything. Check it out HERE or click the tab at the top of this page. Enjoy!

Yellow & Gray Nursery tutorials: DIY Custom crib bumper

I know today is typically "You're Welcome" Wednesday, but baby girl is coming in 4 days (AHH!) and I just have to finish showing you all the fun/cheap/free things I've been doing to get her room ready! So instead today I'm going to show you this project:

DIY Custom Crib Bumper

I couldn't find any bedding that I wanted (plus, it's SUPER overpriced most of the time), but found some super cute fabric that I fell in love with. Solution? 

Make your own!

• I got a bunch of sturdy indoor/outdoor fabric from Hancock Fabrics. The yellow/white is usually about $18/yd (ouch) but I waited until it went on sale for 50% off, then used coupons to help bring the cost down even more. 

***Remember, patience pays off! Everything will go on sale eventually, so be patient and DON'T PAY FULL PRICE FOR ANYTHING...EVER. That's the "F" in my F.A.C.T's of saving.

***Remember, Hancock's and Joanne's take competitors' coupons!

• The blue/white fabric was remnant home decor fabric on sale for $4/yd. YAY! I ended up spending about $50 on fabric, but have used, reused, and reused it again throughout the entire room (I'll show you how very soon!). 

I found this crib bumper for $4 at a yard sale. 

It was in great condition; nice and sturdy. I threw it on gentle cycle in the wash and it came out like new! 

You could find an old crib bumper:

• at a thrift store, 
• at a yard sale,
• the online classifieds, 
• ask around to your network to see if anyone has an old one they don't need any more,
• or you can even buy new crib bumper batting from a craft store.

 I don't particularly LIKE sewing and was intimidated about this project (I didn't want to mess up!!), but luckily my Madre was in town and basically did the whole thing for me (thanks Mumsie!).

Here's how she did it:

 (To picture the process...you are basically sewing your fabric together to make a long "tube". Once you have the tube you stuff the crib bumper inside of it, close it up, and there you go! Ok now you have the visual, here's the step-by-step...)

• First step, wash and iron your fabric!! You want it to be super pressed and clean. 
• Next step, measure, measure, measure, and measure again. (I hate that part.)
• We measured the length and width of the crib bumper, and added 1 inch (length AND width) to allow for a 1/2 in seam. 

• Even if you are only doing the bumper in one kind of fabric you will still need to cut it into individual panels (2 for the long sides of the crib, 2 for the short sides of the crib). Otherwise it won't bend in the corners properly.

Then we marked it very meticulously on each piece of fabric. This is tough because the fabric is NOT straight most of the time (it's either cut crooked, or printed crooked!)

Once we had it measured, we cut it and laid it out next to the bumper to make sure it was correct BEFORE sewing.

We found some matching ribbon I had and cut some to match the ties that were on the bumper.

Next, we started pinning. 

I wanted each panel to be a different type of fabric. We pinned the different pieces of fabric in order of how I wanted them, printed side facing each other like so:

Note: if you pin fabric this way (with the pins horizontal) you can actually sew right over the pins rather than having to pull them out as you go! (thanks for the tip, mom)

Flip the fabric over and make sure they are BOTH facing the right direction! You don't want one panel of fabric to be upside down...

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the rest of the process, but it's pretty simple! You just:

• Follow your pins and sew the fabric together. You now have your front panel.
• Once the fabric is sewn together you can flip it over and should have one long train of fabric with nice clean lines.
• Do the same with the back panel of the bumper. For the back I just did it all in the blue and white fabric. 
• Even though it was all the same fabric we still sewed it in 4 pieces so it would bend properly in the corners of the crib.
• Lay the front panel (my yellow/white/gray strip) on top of the back panel (my blue/white strip) and pin 3 of the 4 sides (leave one of the short sides open) allowing for that 1/2 in seam. 
• Make sure to pin the printed sides together so when you turn it right side out, the fabric is facing the right direction!
• Pin your ribbon crib ties in there too! (We used the crib bumper as a map to see where to pin the ties).
• Pin them on the inside so that when you turn the finished bumper right side out, the ribbons will be OUTSIDE of the bumper.
• Sew three of the 4 sides of the panels together then turn it right-side out (as if you were sewing a pillow case.) Make sure to get the corners well.
• You should have a long "tube" of fabric; one side being the front panel (my yellow/white side) the other being the back panel (my blue/white side), and the ribbon ties hanging correctly on the outside of the tube.
• Stuff the bumper into the tube of fabric (this is the hardest part). Make sure to get the corners well!
• Tuck in the final un-sewn short end of the tube, pin it so it has nice clean lines, and sew. 
• There you go!

Now you have a CUSTOM crib bumper that no one else will have, for way less than it would cost to buy one!

I used some leftover fabric to make a few coordinating pillows for the rocker, and couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.

Not bad for someone that typically hates crafts, eh?! :)

Foodie Tuesday recipe: Cilantro Lime Chicken

Hello friends, welcome back to Foodie Tuesday! Today I'm going to share a quick, easy, and oh-so-yummy recipe that I made up a while back. It's an easy go-to for those times that cilantro and/or limes are a killer deal!

Now introducing...

Cilantro Lime Chicken

What you need:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts (or whatever kind of chicken you like)

1 Bunch of cilantro

1-2 Cloves of garlic

Lime juice to taste, at least 2T full

Olive oil (at least 2T full)

Red pepper flakes (optional)

Red onion, green bell pepper, mushrooms, or any other veggies you like (optional)

Here's what you do:

Wash the cilantro, cut it off the stems, and chop it up in a food processor.

Add lime to taste. I like a lot of lime, so I do AT LEAST a 1/2 lime, often times the whole thing! You could start with 1/2 and add more at the end if you prefer.

Add some olive oil. I usually eyeball it. You just want to get to the consistency of a thick, pasty marinade. Start with 1-2T full and add more if needed.

Add red pepper flakes if you want a little kick! It's pretty mild but adds a nice touch. I usually only add a pinch or two.

Puree it really well so it makes a thick paste consistency.

Reserve 1/2 of the paste to add to the chicken once it's cooked, or you can mix it in with ranch to make a creamy and amazing dressing that is PERFECT for taco salad!

Take the other 1/2 of your paste and brush cover your chicken breasts with it.

That's it! Marinate in the fridge for a few hours, or cook immediately. You can sautee the chicken, grill it, broil it, or cook it however you'd like. My preferred method is to grill it on a George Foreman grill wrapped in foil so the juices absorb. It seems to be the quickest and juiciest way for me.

You can eat the chicken breast whole, or you can cut the chicken up and sautee it with veggies for a really yummy fajita or burrito filling! That's what I did here:

I cubed the chicken and cooked it with some onion and green bell peppers that I had on-hand, and put it in flour tortillas with sour cream, rice, cheese, extra lime, and lettuce to make AWESOME burritos! (Or a great topping for taco salad)

Be sure to serve with my Easy Spanish Rice and my favorite Pico Salsa for a GORGEOUS, healthy, quick, easy, and YUMMY meal!

 Happy eating to you :)