Nursery sneak-peak and French Onion Soup revisited

Hello!

One of my fitness and foodie blogger crushes was talking about doing some nesting/house repairs for the baby they're expecting over at Carrots N Cake. Tina and her husband, Mal, have big plans. Oh, and don't forget to check out their cute pug, Murphy!

Since there's lots of baby love going on with Baby Lincoln at Iowa Girl Eats and the baby that Jenna and her husband are expecting over at Eat, Live, Run , I thought I would share a nursery sneak peak with you all!

Here's a roundup of a few of the projects that I've done and totally filled up the walls:

Steve found this great map, which is flanked by art from Naptime Diaries and original art from my sister.

This is a Jen original that is going on the book shelf.

Remember when I figured out how to install a floating shelf?
I made the art on the right and just framed a greeting card on the left. The tea cup was my grandma's.

This is a total Pinterest copy-cat project. The lighting is funky here, but it works in the room.

Last, but not least, we assembled the crib! It's adorable. I'll give you a full tour after the baby shower in two weeks.

An early shower gift from my parents!

So, French Onion Soup. It only has about 8 grams of carbs per serving (so I could have a really big serving) and I'm allowed to eat a whole 45 grams for dinner to fit in my gestational diabetes diet! 15 g will be taken up by a wholesome glass of milk, but I'm thinking grilled cheese croutons for the other 15 grams...

Yes, I know that in this French Onion Soup version that I made last time, I was all about the gratinee process of melting cheese all over the place. Yes, I'm still pro-cheese. Have no fear, there will be cheese, but when you see these cute bites from Ina Garten, how could you resist? Also, I'll be omitting the wine. Obviously. No booze for me even if it's in the soup!

I'll let you know how it all turns out!

Non-food crushes

Hi Crushers,

I just wanted to share a few links today to some other bloggers that I get a kick out of because THEY ARE AWESOME.

1. Tina from Carrots 'N' Cake or CNC
Tina is a fitness and pug fan that blogs about food, fitness programs, her family and her pug, Murphy. He's adorable and obsessed with chicken. She is also doing a #24daysoftogetherness project with her husband. Last year, I made a huge Advent calendar out of an over-the-door shoe organizer for my husband, Steve, and filled it with all sorts of little treats from his favorite candy to books to restaurant gift cards to new ornaments for the tree to a box of bandages (we climbed Half Dome on our honeymoon). Since I've got a different plan for his gift this year, I am joining Tina's #24daysoftogetherness for our Advent calendar. You can too!

Day 1: Sing and Dance to Christmas Carols - CHECK!
Day 2: Make an ornament - see photo proof!

I have paint on my fingers from making gifts for our "handmade Christmas" party.

We did some finger painting. That's supposed to be a heart made from our thumbprints.
It says, "Our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs. 2012"

Day 3: Eat dinner by candlelight - CHECK!

Day 4 (today): Play a board game. This morning was full of "Tonight I will win!" trash talk. Muwahahah

2. Ree from The Pioneer Woman
Yes, Ree is an awesome cook and I have been making a number of her recipes lately, but she is also very crafty and has a very interesting life on a ranch to read about. She cracks me up because she must write like she talks. I'd definitely take this woman out for a cup of coffee.

3. Tiffany from The Nest Effect
This woman is a teacher and recently-married person who loves organization. I can't say that I'm as organized as she is, but Tiffany sure has some great ideas! From time to time, she shares free printables. She also has an Etsy shop.