Drink Up!

Went to Total Wine on my lunch today and got SCHOOLED by my "Old Lady" drinkin' buddies.  Those girls love their cocktails and I enjoyed learning a few things today.  


I resolve to drink more this year.  I'm a total lightweight and want to build up my tolerance a bit.  I'm a cheap date, but sheesh...motherhood has, uh...left me rusty.


So, I don't like wine.  **GASP**  I know.  I know.  Most people look at me like I have 3 heads when I tell them I don't like it.  However, I am more willing to give it a try these days.  At a recent Christmas Party I had a Pinot Noir that I actually liked...too bad I didn't pay attention to the name.  So, my "Old Ladies" are going to help me out.  I'm such a rookie now!


Anyway, with the help of this 457 page guide, I hope to learn a few things about wine.

And, I would buy this tequila just to have the bottle. I have had a long term love-affair with anything skull, sugar skull, dia de los muertos, etc.

So, do any of you have any favorite wines this newbie might like?


Cheers!


♥♥♥ 
Olivia

Scraps

What do you get out of a pile of vintage sheets?

A lovely blanket of course...

This blanket is for Penelope's bed.  I love the fact that the binding I made to put around the edge is a completely different floral pattern than the main sheet, but it has all the same colors. 

This literally took me about 2 hours to make from start to finish.  If you're interested the process is below.

I'm calling this an "Arizona Blanket" because the thickness is just 3 sheets.  No batting or filling.  Just enough to keep the chill off but not hot enough to be uncomfortable.  Even in the winter I still get too hot with too many blankets.

So, I had 3 full-size sheets (the floral and green ones you see and a plain white one which is in the middle and not visible) that I trimmed down with my rotary cutter so that all sides were equal.  I pinned the sheets together and serged all 4 sides.  Since I knew I'd be putting binding around the edges, I was not concerned with how I actually sewed the pieces together.  Then I "quilted" it together by sewing pieces of yarn into knots through all 3 pieces of fabric.  You can't really see them in the picture, but by doing this it just keeps 3 pieces stabilized together.  After you wash it once you've quilted it, it becomes slightly "puckery" around the yarn knots...I love this!  It just oozes coziness!.  Once I completed the yarn quilting, I made the binding out of another vintage sheet, ironed it, and then pinned it all around the blanket.  Once in place, I topstitched it to the blanket and then I was done!  Easy Peasy.  My Penelope was over the moon with her new "quilt" to put on her bed.  

You could easily add warmth to this by omitting the third sheet in the middle and add batting made especially for quilts.  

I typically scour garage sales, thrift stores, and antique stores for vintage sheets.  I don't care what anyone says, they do not make crisp sheets like the old vintage ones.  The way I look at it is, "one man's junk is another man's treasure."  I was able to make my baby a blanket she absolutely loves for about $3.  

This really isn't a tutorial, but more of an inspirational piece...to get you thinking about what you could make with things you already have on hand!  

Enjoy!

♥♥♥ 
Olivia

Welcome to the Barnyard

We have goats!

We welcomed our first barnyard beauties to Serendipity the day before Christmas Eve.  The kids (and me too!) were so excited.  Greg's uncle brought them for the kids.  They are just adorable.  SugarPlum is the smaller of the two and was pretty skittish, but she is warming up to me.  The other day she escaped her pen and I was trying to "round her up" as Greg would say.  Really, it was me darting back and forth trying to persuade to jump back to where she belonged.  Greg asked, "Why don't you just grab her?"  Oh, duh.  That really didn't dawn on me.  I've never wrangled goats before!  So, I grabbed her and scooped her up and she went limp in my arms and...for real...started cuddling.  At least that is what I think.  She nuzzled her head against my chest and let me pet her for about 5 minutes.  Now when I go out to feed her, she talks to me, comes right up to me and follows me around.  When I feed them, she jumps in the trough and lets me pet her the entire time.  Bessie on the other hand is sassy and wants nothing to do with any of us still.  She's better than the first night, but is still in flight mode whenever we get too close.

My Junior Mint got his first head butt by the goat which in turn ended with him face flat in the dirt.  His eyes were as big as saucers.  After making sure he was fine, I just about died laughing.  That will teach him to get too close.  Goats 1 - Baby Greg 0.

As for the names, those were all Penelope.  At first we just knew we were getting two goats, but we didn't know the sex.  So, obviously you get her choice for female names, but if they would've been boys, they would've been Carlos and Lightning.  Right on Peeps. 

I can't wait to add more creatures to our barnyard brood.  Thinking maybe a couple more goats, maybe a sheep, a cow, and a mini donkey for sure!  I'd have whole zoo if Greg would let me!

♥♥♥ 
Olivia

Lucky Dog

I truly believe everything happens for a reason.  


Enter Lucky Dog.

Greg and I have had two boxers in our life for the last 10 almost 11 years:  Milo & Otis.  Milo and Otis were brothers, and seriously the best dogs ever.  Sadly, Otis passed away in April of 2011 leaving just Milo.  Greg and I kept telling each other that we should really get another dog before Milo passes away...you know to teach the young one "the ropes".


Not more than 24 hours after we seriously talked about getting a new dog, does Lucky show up.  And he's a boxer?  Our neighbor actually had him because she thought Lucky was Milo, and that he had escaped from our yard.  Nope not the case.  Of course, once I saw "Buddy" (that was what the neighbor had been calling him), I melted. But I had my heart guarded...I knew a dog as gorgeous as "Buddy" surely had to have a family missing him.  My neighbor who has lived here a lot longer that us was certain "Buddy" was dumped in our neighborhood because all the homes are on acreage and lots of people have farm animals...absorbing a dog...especially a cutie like "Buddy" would not be hard to do.  Looking back, I still can't even pin point how we got "Buddy" from our neighbor...it was like she let us take him to get acquainted with Milo and we just never gave him back.  I guess that's how things work in the country.  


I was still cautious though.  I searched AZ law regarding a lost/found dog...as long as I cared for an animal for at least 6 consecutive days, he was mine.  Let the countdown begin.  I took him to the vet to see if he was microchipped.  He wasn't.  I searched every single neighborhood within a 5 mile radius looking for "lost dog" posters with his sweet face.  I didn't find any.  I searched the "lost and found" section on craigslist and other lost pet sites and even put my own ad up.  I didn't find any ads matching him and no one responded to mine.  Then the 6th consecutive came and went and we officially changed his name from "Buddy" to "Lucky".  


Lucky he found us, and lucky we found him.

♥♥♥
Olivia

The Pinterest Project: January 2012

So, if you're anything like me, you are probably a Pinterest-aholic.  I get sucked in and then it's over.  So over. Sometimes I feel like there is just too much good stuff out there that I want to try that I don't even know where to begin!  Well, I have decided that each month, I'm going to try 3 to 4 things on Pinterest that have grabbed my attention.  Then at the beginning of the next month, I will recap the previous project and unveil the new project.  Maybe it will give you some inspiration and insight and it will get me "doing" something!  

So without further ado...here is the first installment...The Pinterest Project:  January 2012!
Hope you enjoy!

1. & 2. go together.  My hall closet is approximately the same size as the picture in #2, so I am going to use this a guide.  However, I'm calling shenanigans on the towel rack on the inside of the door.  Seems to me if they shut the door, it just wouldn't work.  But, I do like the idea of maximizing the vertical space on each shelf.  Also, we have a tons of "medicine cabinet" stuff that is currently residing in a fall-apart box under our sink in the master bathroom.  Time for it to look like picture #1...and I have a label maker I need to break in!


3.  Green Beans with Bacon Vinaigrette - these look and sound so good!  Green beans are one vegetable the kids actually love, but want a way to kind of jazz them up.  We'll see.  Anything with bacon on it is a good thing in my book.


4.  Vietnamese Spring Rolls - these just look so yummy!  Not sure if these will pass muster with the kids and hubby, but even if they don't they look like a perfect lunch for me to take to work.


I'll be back at the beginning of  February with a post on how each of these turned out, along with a new plan for February!  

♥♥♥
Olivia

Happy New Year: 2012

I love the new year.


I don't really get caught up in a laundry list of resolutions, but there is something so invigorating about a clean slate.  I guess that is why I started this new blog in the first place.  SugarBear Diaries was just a little too intimate at times for my liking, and I needed a change of space.  I created OhSugarBear as that new space and I hope you will stop by often and even leave a comment every now and then.


Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  It's a whole "season" in my house, with decorations going up promptly on or the day after Thanksgiving and stay up until the new year.  To me, it's the perfect way to start and stop my favorite time of the year.


As I sat quietly in the still of last night and soaked up all the coziness that is my home, I made some sincere resolutions to myself.  They do not warrant public opinion, but they will be my attempt to continually progress towards that better version of myself that I envision.


Remember it's never too late to do anything or be anything...until it's too late.


I'm wishing you peace and hope in the new year.  2012 is going to be great!  I can just feel it.


Thank you for stopping by and welcome!

♥♥♥
Olivia