Spring Fever

I am so excited for pleasant weather and beautiful flowers! I love the south for so many reasons-one primary one being the drastic season changes. Every 3 months we experience a time of transition that seems to come at the perfect moment! Spring seems to slip in right there after I feel as though I can't possibly deal with that bitter cold wind and bulky sweaters anymore! We have lots of stuff going on right now: spring cleaning, backyard makeover, sewing projects getting us ready for this beloved weather, working on fondant skills, & planning a super fun 1 year old 'ladybug' birthday party (yes 3 months early) =) So far I have been taking the spring cleaning one cabinet or drawer at a time and by 'at a time' I mean one small tiny drawer a day. I expect to have the house cleaner by next year this time. It absolutely amazes me how much junk we have accumulated over the 2 years of living here. So-craigslist and Hannah Home here we come! As for the backyard-these photos as embarrassing as they are tell it all!

Yeah...yuck, yuck and more yuck!

So our project will consist of painting the gross concrete, killing all of our lovely weeds, covering the main area with pea gravel or something like it, adding a couple of flowers & plants in pots and planters,  

a few pavers, and maybe even a water fixture. I'll make sure I update when this is finished! We are aiming for something like this:

As for the sewing creations, I'll post pictures tomorrow of Blakely's spring & summer wardrobe. She is going to be far better dressed than her momma. I do have some pictures of two birthday outfits that I made. One is for her ladybug party & the other is for her actual birthday.

Ooooooooh & the thing I am most excited about lately is getting this:

My awesome sister just smocked this ADORABLE Easter dress!!! I have decided to learn how to smock. She claims it isn't that hard-but I mean come on when you look at stuff this beautiful it is hard to not be intimidated! I will be sure to post many many more pictures of our Blakely in this.

AND FOR SOME REALLY REALLY REALLY FUN NEWS..... DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....

We did it. I pressed the pre-order button last night. I officially will be the proud owner of a Canon Rebel T3i. WhoooHoooo!!!! Now I just have to be patient-something we all know I am terrible at. 

Tomorrow our little Blakely will be 9 months. WHATTT? crazy, right? yep, 9 months & it so happens that our 9 month check up is tomorrow as well so I'll be posting watch me grow pictures along with accurate stats.