Thanks to everyone who participated!

 

It’s almost time.
I try to participate in the MS Walk every year, in honor of my mother. It’s a cause that matters greatly to me. And I would love your help.
This year I’m hoping to raise at least $1,000. If all 328 of my Blogger followers gave just $4 that would be more than enough. See? Even small donations can make a big difference! So, if you’re able, please consider sponsoring me. Not able to donate? That’s OK. You can still help me out by blogging, tweeting, and sharing on Facebook. Any help at all will mean a lot to me, and to the MS Society.
I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me about the MS Walk a few more times between now and the date of my local walk. Consider this a “kick-off” post.
And, just FYI, I will make a blog signature for anyone who donates $10 dollars or more and provides a valid e-mail address in their online donation form. You’ll have to select the “name and amount” option to receive your free signature. Or, if you donate $15 dollars or more you can choose between a free signature or one month of advertising space on Domestic Dork {provide an e-mail address and select “name and amount”}. And everyone who donates {again, you’ll need to provide an e-mail address in the form”} has the option of being added to an “Honor Blog Roll.” The blog roll will be left in my sidebar for 3 months and then left indefinitely on the blog page {see the “blogs” button in my menu on the left}.
Thanks for reading this, and thanks in advance and from the bottom of my heart for any donations and/or help spreading the word.

I got my sewing machine set back up the other day {it’s been faaaar too long since last I sewed – my machine is broken so it’s a frustrating experience}. But I wanted to make something, anything really. So I decided to whip up a simple baby doll pouch sling for Lucy. I checked online and did find some how-to guides for making pouch slings. But I was feeling lazy and wanted something really easy. I didn’t want to have to adjust the measurements or do quite so many steps {even if it would make a nicer sling}. So I improvised.

At some point in the future I’ll probably make a nicer one {maybe once I have a working machine}. But in the meantime this gets the job done. And just in case you’re a lazy sewer too I present:


See? Easy peasy! Just a few cuts, and a few lines of simple stitching. Enjoy! And if you make one of your own I’d love to see pictures so link ‘em in the comments!
By the way, these instructions are NOT suitable for a real baby carrier. Dolls only!

Alas, my Wilton cake decorating class has come to an end. For our final cake we tackled the “Wilton Rose.” They’re kind of fun actually, you know…when you don’t want to chuck your frosting bag across the room because you can’t get the petals just right. Anyhow, after getting all my roses on the rest of the cake just looked so empty so I did a tribute to one of my favorite Cake Wrecks.

I have to admit, I totally cheated on this cake. We were supposed to do a shell and sweet pea border instead of a star border. But you know what? I hate shells. And I hadn’t had a chance to practice them since last class. So, as my table-mate in class put it, I was a “rebel.” Because there’s nothing like using the wrong border to really stick it to the man! Viva la cake revolution!
*ahem*
Anyhow…the roses…here they are.

My best one ended up buried on the bottom of the pile, so I did one more and it ended up being better than the one that got covered up. But then it got a little smooshed by the lid of my cake carrier. That’s it to the left. I’m not sure if you’ll be able to see the smooshage or not. Adam and our friend Liz didn’t seem to notice. So it’s all good. And here are a few more shots, just because I feel like it:
   I finally figured out why I was getting so many little craters in my base coat of icing. And by “figured out” I mean I asked the teacher. Turns out I was over-mixing my icing. So this time my base coat turned out much better.  I went with an orange vanilla cake this time. It was OK. I think chocolate will always be my favorite {though the key lime cake we had at Lucy’s birthday and funfetti cake are yummy too}.
Anyway, I really, really enjoyed the class. And if supplies didn’t cost so freakin’ much I’d be signed up for the next course already. But for now, it will have to wait. In the mean time I have a LOT of leftover frosting with which I can practice those lovely roses and stupid shells.
What’s you favorite flavor of cake? Tell me in the comments.

Well, I promised a giveaway and here it is! CSN Stores is sponsoring this one. I especially love their toys and games site. They also have a furniture web store with some more great stuff for little ones like kid bedding and kid furniture. I was approached to do a review/giveaway and given the chance to browse the store for an item I’d like to review. The hardest part was choosing just one item. The pretend play items on their toy site are awesome {the play kitchen items, like the toy stand mixers, are adorable}! But, in the end, I chose this:

I even showed you how to make some cute pretend mail. I like this toy because

1. It’s just small and adorable and
2. It encourages pretend play.

At first Lucy was frustrated with it because she had trouble opening the little door. But we filled it with cat litter to weigh it down and now she can open and shut it no problem. My only complaint is that the box is a little small. If you make your pretend mail just a little smaller then mine that won’t be a big deal. Though, it would have been nice to be able to fit Lucy’s actual mail in it {sometimes she gets greeting cards and each month she gets a mini magazine called Wild Animal Baby – thanks Grandma!}. Other than that it’s great! It’s plastic, so it’s easy to clean and would be suitable for outdoor play {wouldn’t it look great outside a play house?}.
And now for your chance to win one!
Here are the rules {I’m keeping it simple this time}:
You must live in Canada or the US. And you must leave a comment on this post.
That’s pretty much it. Your comment can be about anything, how badly you want to win, what the weather is like where you are, whatever. I’m not picky. You can get one extra entry by blogging about the giveaway {leave a link to the POST, not to your blog homepage, in a separate comment to get the extra entry}.
I’ll use random.org to select a winner next week. I’ll close entries Friday morning and post the winner Friday afternoon {good way to kick off the weekend, no?}.
Good luck!