Some DIY nursery action - crib sheet, teething guard, and a book hammock...

I usually spend my weekends making something for our house, these days. I have been wanting to make Henry a crib sheet for some time, mostly because the tutorials all seemed super easy. It took me a while to commit to the right fabric because Henry's glider has a white with navy ikat-ish print. But the navy isn't really navy, its like dark dark blue. So when I stumbled upon Sari by Dear Stella, I just knew that it would be perfect. Also, his nursery is mostly very soft colors, and I feel this dark fabric really adds some punch and personality to a room for a boy that is soon to be 1!

To make the sheet, I followed the tutorial at Dana Made It. It was SUPERRRRRR easy. If you are a true beginner, you could easily make one! There are probably millions of tutorials out there, and I assume most are exactly the same. I would suggest making a casing for the elastic, and then sliding it through at the end. Some tutorials show you how to sew the elastic onto the sheet, and that just seems dumb and hard to me. Also, I love everything on Dana's blog. A lot of crafters don't necessarily have... the best taste? But everything she makes is super cool and simple, and I feel her aesthetic lines up with mine about 90% of the time.

Here she is...

Pillow made from corner scraps and leftover pompoms...

Matches the glider beautifully!...

I also made a rail guard for the crib. About one second after Henry could pull up in his crib, his mouth went straight for the rail. I looked around online, and all the fabric guards were made for a crib with a larger top rail. We have a Jenny Lind crib (which I cannot recommend enough - so cute and cheap), and the top rail is really skinny. I found one I loved on etsy (before I could sew), but it was going to be like $100 and I just couldn't pull the trigger.

I am not going to present a tutorial, but I will tell you in general how I made it...

1. Roughly measured how big it needed to be

2. Cut 1 piece of fabric and two identical pieces of fleece to give it "padding"... So actually, the blue fabric was not long enough, so I pieced the two mint green panels in so that it would stretch the entire length of the rail. 

3. Sewed them all right sides together, flip right side out, top stitch a 3/4 inch border

4. Make fabric ties, and then sew them into place... No matter what your ties are like, you need to have some on the end that tie onto the posts horizontally. I made another one of these a few months ago, and I didn't do that, and Henry was able to move the guard all around. 

The bumper is from Carter's. It's just plain white, and about the only one I could find that I didn't hate under $100. I have considered making Henry a new one. They sell the pads to use at craft stores, but the pads are like $30+ and you would have to buy several yards of fabric, so I abandoned the idea. I also used to have a crib skirt, but I decided that now that his crib is lowered, that it just looked goofy and unnecessary. 

Here is the crib before he ever slept in it and needed all the ACCESSORIES. Obviously, that pillow was just for decoration...

Lastly, I have been wanting this book caddy from the Land of Nod for months. Obvi, I didn't want to spend the money, so it never happened. The thing I am probably most secure about as a mom is that I read Henry AT LEAST 15 books a day. He gets 5 books before every nap and bed time. I didn't really do this out of any sort of literary goal, I just needed a good sleep routine, and reading books seemed like the best option. (PS - Henry freaking loves books now... even more than the iPad!). 

Anyway, we had the books just stacked up on the side table, and because we have like 20 in rotation since we read so many a day, they would stack up and fall over, and it was super annoying. I racked my brain trying to think of how I could make the same book caddy in a DIY version with fabric. I originally had thought I could get a drying or luggage rack and make a fabric thing on top to hold the books. It proved to be harder than I would have thought to find a cheap frame. I also considered making something out of PVC but that would involve spray paint, and I HATE painting things. Then it dawned on me that I had this laundry hamper that could work. 

So I took this...

And turned it into this...

I somehow really messed up the dimensions of the fabric. It should have been wider so that the fabric fell down into a 90 degree angle when books were in it, but this is more of a shallow hammock... and it works. I literally gave myself ONE nap time to make this, and I pulled it off, and was not willing to "rework it" in any way. I just took the bag that I already had and sewed some random scraps of fabric on in lines. You can tell, the lines aren't even straight, but the better you get at sewing, the more you realize how unnoticeable a lot of stuff like that ends up being. I was not willing to use anything but scrap fabric for this project which means it literally cost me ZERO DOLLARS. My fabric is so precious to me that I will only cut into if it I am making a sellable item or a gift. 

Sewing is just about the most fun thing ever. In a couple hours, I transformed my baby's nursery into something that feels so much cooler and so much more in tune with what I like for our house. 

Love,

Lauren

I'm back... until the next time I am gone...

So what has happened to me?

After I started making Strolli Cools, which people are still buying and enjoying!, I was like wait... I can make OTHER stuff, too. I told my husband last night how weird it is that when I first started making the Strolli Cools that it didn't even occur to me that I would be able to make/sell other fun things. And now, it's like I dread making Strolli Cools sometimes because it's like old hat at this point.

To be honest, I taught myself to sew at the beginning of the summer. So the Strolli Cool was the first thing I ever made. As far as being the first thing you've ever sewn, it's not exactly an "easy" thing to make. It's not super hard either, but compared to a burp cloth, it's more challenging for sure.

I think I have even impressed myself with how quickly I have picked up sewing. I do think that I have an advantage over the average person because I have a college degree in understanding and assessing apparel. Even though I never used a sewing machine once in college, I took a class where I had to learn every type of stitch, pleat, hem, seam, etc., and how it's done. I also took a science lab where I had to learn just about every single type of fabric and how they work in apparel applications. With that said... I have always known how the clothes are put together, I just had never taken a crack at it with a machine.

So. I have made a lot of shit since the last post. A lot.

5 blankets
20 burp cloths
2 dog beds
30 headbands
4 skirts
2 bathrobes
6 sensory toys
2 pairs of shorts
10 dog bows
5 lovies

Basically, I sew when Henry naps, and I sew as soon as Tom gets home until I go to bed. Recently, I have chilled out a little bit. I am really tired, plus I have been doing a lot of work on the computer with rebranding my etsy store and researching supply vendors for all the wacky ideas I have in my head. And then of course, I am also supposed to be a good wife and a good mom, and keep my dogs alive, and clean the house. And plus PLUS, people keep ordering invitations from me! Which is really great, but it kind of mentally derails me from designing and making things.

The irony of all of this is... I will sew for five hours straight, but I am too lazy to post any of this stuff to etsy to actually sell it. The main reason is, it's REALLY hard for me to take pictures of things. Good pictures have to be taken outside during the day... and with Henry, it's just never feels like a good time. Plus, I also want to get some of the packaging I have had made in my possession before I try to market this stuff.

My new etsy store is called PRINCIE and you can visit it at etsy.com/shop/princiedesigns . Princie was an amazing woman I worked with in Tulsa, and one day I will tell you all about her.

I do not know how often I will be able to blog these days. I would like to be consistent about it, but please just accept that the quality of posts may not be as good. They will probably be more diary-like going forward, and I simply cannot allocate any time to making cool graphics that really serve no purpose other than looking good. Not until this moment in my life have I ever understood the phrase TIME IS MONEY... And girl, this blog has made me about $3 this past year. Speaking of, I got a credit card reader for my iPhone. I have never had the opportunity to use it, but I feel pretty awesome just having it.

The remainder of this post will be pictures from my iPhone that showcase what I have been up to. Everything you see, including Henry's shorts were made by me. There is no time for extra editing or any of that nonsense...

If you follow this blog because you are a stranger on the internet who happens to like reading my posts, your best bet is to follow me on instagram at PRINCIEDESIGNS. For the other 99% of you who know me from real life, you know where to find me. 

Love,

Lauren

PS - OMG I left my laptop at airport security out of state a couple weeks ago and didn't realize until I was mid flight. Because Henry's birth was in 2012, this might have been the most dramatic moment of my life this year. Many phone calls and $108 later, it's back. Safe and sound...

And the winner is...

Yayyy! I am super excited for Courtney! She actually happens to be a good friend from middle/high school that I knew from orchestra. That's right... ORCHESTRA. I play the viola. I used to be quite good. Don't ask me to play for you because the truth is, there is very little solo music for viola that anyone would care about hearing. Although, I do have the Titanic music book from 1998, so if you would be interested in listing to the instrumental version of "Take her to sea, Mr. Murdoch" I could maybe make that happen for you. 

Anyway, Courtney has two beautiful little girls and another baby on the way, so I know she'll get some good use out of it!

And for no special reason... here is my child, being a nut job...

Love,

Lauren

STROLLI COOL giveaway time!

This is how I feel about the royal baby....

I mean... I literally cried this morning when I was watching the news that Kate was in labor. The same way I cried when I saw her crawl into that black car at 6am. Anyway, the excitement has me feeling generous, so I wanted to do a giveaway for a STROLLI COOL of your choice!

All yous peoples got to do is LIKE Turquoise & Gold on Facebook, and share the "share it to win it" post. Simple as that! Contest will end Wednesday night, winner will be picked at random, and results will be announced Thursday! I am excited to give one of these to y'all, and I look forward to you spreading the word to your mom friends :)

Love,

Lauren

I LOST 30 POUNDS! And hated every second of it...

On January 16th, I wrote THIS post. I stated that I wanted to lose 30 lbs, and vaguely outlined my plan of action. Well, here we are six months later, and I did it, y'all!

So let me start from the beginning... With Henry, I gained almost 60 lbs during my pregnancy. In the first two weeks after his birth, I lost 30 lbs of that. I was insanely swollen so a lot of my weight was fluid retention...

See? Told ya. However, after that first two weeks, I did not lose anything else. I had issues with breastfeeding from the get go, and even though I was exclusively nursing for almost 4 months, it did nothing for my weight loss. By January, Henry was 3 months old, and I still had 30 lbs to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. So, really, if I wanted to, I could say I lost 60 lbs, but I don't think that accurately depicts the situation.

In January, I just felt gross. I have been varying degrees of overweight most of my life, but, honestly, I never really felt bad about myself. In January, I had a lot of moments of self-loathing. That was a new thing for me, so I decided I really had to get shit taken care of. Initially, I didn't set a time constraint on my weight-loss. I've never lost more than 15 lbs at a time in my life, so I didn't even know where to begin with this goal. As time went on, and I had success, I decided to go by the "9 months to put it on, 9 months to take it off" rule. Well... 9 months and TWO DAYS.

To give a little background for anyone reading this blog for the first time, I will briefly depict my weight history... I have always been like 10-20 lbs overweight my entire life, according to medical charts. Weight loss and maintenance has always been an issue for me, and I do believe that my metabolism is on the low end of the spectrum. I have always played sports and worked out, and been decently fit, just never thin. At the time I got pregnant, it was 2 months after my wedding, and I felt pretty good about my body. I was doing crossfit and paleo religiously, and I was in really great health. This 30 lbs I lost does not get me to my ideal weight. My ideal weight is still about 10-15 lbs away.

So what did I do to lose the weight? What a hard question to answer. The bottom line is I exercised more and ate less. The REAL bottom line is that... I cut out all the emotional/mental bullshit out of the equation, and just freaking did what it takes.

Exercise: Henry and I attend Baby Boot Camp 5 times a week. It's a good and effective work out. Working out for an hour five times a week is more than most people. Boot camp definitely has helped my body look so much better, but was it the main factor in my weight loss? No. Although, the constant support and motivation from my mom friends was incredibly helpful and encouraging.

Food: Obviously, my diet and calorie intake has been the main source of success for my weight loss. I didn't go on a "diet." I don't have time to plan out meals or go grocery shopping the way most diets require that you do. Well, actually I have plenty of time, but I hate grocery shopping and I am lazy. Anyway, I really ate all the same foods as before. I just ate a whole hell of a lot less. I do not count calories. Again, too lazy. Basically, I just had to gauge what hunger level I needed to be at to lose weight steadily week to week. My guess is that it was around 1000 calories on a daily basis. I know that 1000 calories a day is not "healthy". But neither is being overweight. I do not recommend eating less than 1200 calories a day, but my metabolism sucks major ass, and 1200 calories even with working out will not allow me to effectively lose weight. Argue with me all you want, but I just lost 30 lbs... so just trust that I know what I am saying. Of course, there are days I probably ate something crazy like 3000 calories. But they were very few and far in between. Like once or twice a month. Not once or twice a week.

More food stuff: 1000 calories a day sucks. I was/am hungry a lot, and it's pretty miserable. I hate to say this because it kind of sounds like the beginning of an eating disorder... but after a while, I embraced that super hungry feeling. I would tell myself "this is what losing weight feels like." I do not have an eating disorder, by the way. I needed to lose 30 lbs, so I did what it took. And it was over 6 months, so obviously I wasn't doing anything too crazy.

Even more food stuff: I would like to point out that I basically do not drink alcohol. Not because "I don't drink." I do. It's just that with a baby, I never go out to bars and we go to dinner at 5:30. I also don't particularly "enjoy" alcohol. I like drinking with my friends and family and getting a buzz going... but I couldn't care less about good wine or cocktails or trying new beers. COULD NOT CARE LESS. All that combined makes not drinking about as easy as not doing crystal meth (translation... very easy). I want to mention this because I know a lot of single 20 something girls will read this. When I was single and going out all the time, I don't think I could have foregone alcohol for six months. And even if you only drink on the weekends... multiply 1000 calories by 20 weeks, and you're not going to get the same results.

Now I want to talk about cutting out the bullshit. I have a bad metabolism. I've been chubby my entire life. I have always had to work harder than other people to lose weight. I have a parent who criticized my weight from a very young age. I was made fun of when I was a kid. I felt left out sometimes as an adult. I freaking love food to the point that it is like textbook addiction. I sometimes compulsively eat without even realizing it. I have narcolepsy which messes with your hunger signals.

The point is... there will always be a million reasons that you can tell yourself why you are overweight or why it's harder for you to lose weight. BUT... So let's say you had a brother who always called you fat growing up, and you feel that a lot of your issues stemmed from that. Well... even if you go to therapy, talk it out, confront your brother, he apologizes, you cry and hug and fix everything... That's not going to make you like food any less. That's not going to make a Double Dave's pizza roll any less tempting. It's not going to give you more energy to go on a run.

You just have to decide if you're going to do it or not. Doing it means sticking to the plan every day. Not three or four days a week. Not three weeks but then going on vacation and gaining 10 lbs. It's an every day thing. Every one of your actions has a consequence. Having a margarita has a consequence. Going for a run has a consequence. You have to constantly be on top of what you are doing and how it's going to feel each week if you do or do not lose weight.

I highly suggest setting a goal date and doing weekly weigh ins. I have had the internet to keep me accountable, but even if it's your mom or your boyfriend, just check in with someone. And take pictures. Seeing yourself look better in a picture is so much more gratifying than just looking in the mirror. That picture is there to remind you "this is what making good decisions looks like."

I know that all sounds like a lot of tough love, but I am just trying to be as straight forward as possible. There was nothing fun about losing 30 lbs other than losing 30 lbs. If I could look awesome without ever working out, trust me, I wouldn't. And I love food and I can eat a ton. Losing 30 lbs has not changed that one bit. I know I am going to continue to struggle with this forever. It's never going to be something I don't have to think about or put effort towards.

One last topic... My body does not look the same since having a baby. I am the same weight, but this body is different. The stretch marks from pregnancy are still there, and my bellybutton looks squishy. And if you've had a child, I don't even need to tell you what's going on with my boobs. I swear it's like you could fit your cell phone and keys in the empty space in my bra.

What does it feel like to lose 30 lbs? It feels just as awesome as you think it would. I recommend it.

Ok. Now come the pictures. First, I will do a series of me in work out clothes, then, I will do me in regular clothes. The regular clothes series doesn't start until around April because I felt too gross to let anyone take a full body shot of me...

 (sorry, I had to include that picture)

And the regulars...

Somewhere in my blog, I talked about that last dress. I bought it when I was pregnant, thinking it would be loose and breezy for after the baby. WRONG. I couldn't even get it over my head. No joke. And now it fits perfect! I bought those ikat/chevron jeans when I was pregnant, too. So glad I did because they are incredibly soft and comfy now. 

While we are talking about clothes, I am still a size 12. I could probably do a 10 in some bottoms, but I am so thick in my waist and ribs that I would have to lose another 10 lbs to go down in dress size. And I'm 5'6 for anyone who has never seen me in person. 

AND WHAT THE HELL... I now weigh 168 lbs.

Love,

Lauren