Work Like a Captain. Play Like a Pirate.

I've chosen a nautical theme for our baby's non-existent nursery. I say non-existent because we're currently saving up to buy a house and don't have anywhere to put a baby as of now. Alas, I have another five months before I pop, so it's not a problem right now. I've been on the look out for nautical-themed items and found this tin sign below on the Hobby Lobby website.

Cute, right?! I loved it and thought about going by there this week to snag one for $15.99. Most of their stuff is usually 50% off, so it would be about $8 if I bought it on sale. Then I remembered that our budget is really, really tight since we're saving $2,700 a month for the aforementioned house. So I set to work in my free Paint.NET program to design one for myself. 

I was able to completely customize it with my own spin on it. I found some great inspiration while Googling things like "pirate vector", "pirate eye patch", and yes, even "duck dynasty beard". I'll head to Office Depot or Office Max this week to print off the 8 in. × 10 in. image and pop it into a frame. Heck, I may even spray paint a cheap frame white just to set it all off. I'm planning on designing some more custom artwork before the baby arrives so I'll have plenty of items to decorate with once we move in to our first home.

Vegan Slow Cooker Black Bean & Pumpkin Chili

Red Gold Tomatoes reached out to me with an offer to send over some Red Gold products to make a chili. I was immediately drawn to their Black Bean & Pumpkin Chili recipe, but replaced the turkey with textured vegetable protein (TVP). Red Gold graciously sent me a pack of goodies and I set to work on my recipe. Luckily, it's been chilly outside (ok, the pun was totally intended), and it was a perfect meal to fill my tummy and keep us warm. I highly recommend Red Gold Tomatoes and all of their products and have incorporated their tomatoes into many of my dishes since discovering them.

I love the combination of pumpkin into this chili, as it's perfect for Fall. Enjoy a bowl of chili with some vegan sour cream, chopped green onion, or crackers on top. Stay warm out there!

**The following promotion has ended**

Red Gold is hosting a giveaway of 44 Crock-Pots starting September 17, and they will be giving away two crock pots a day for three weeks on their Facebook page. Enter to win!

Vegan Black Bean & Pumpkin Chili

Ingredients
yields 8 servings

1 cup water
1 cup TVP
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can solid-pack pumpkin
1 (14.5 ounce) can Red Gold® Diced Tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can Red Gold® Petite Diced Tomatoes w/Lime Juice & Cilantro
3 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons each cumin and oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions
1. Microwave water and pour over TVP.
2. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add TVP, onion, pepper, and garlic. Cook and stir until tender. Drain well.
3. Transfer to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cook, covered on low for 4 to 5 hours.

Tutorial: Rice-Filled Baby Warmer

I bought a sewing machine late last year before our big move, and I went ballistic for a while on projects. Then we started packing up boxes as we prepared to change cities in less than five weeks. The sewing machine was packed up along with everything else, and then stayed upstairs in my parent's garage for nine months. I pulled it out of their garage recently to tackle some projects I had saved up our baby and other miscellaneous items.

My sister-in-law had told me how their daughter hadn't yet grown accustomed to her crib. I don't know too much about sleep schedules and four-month-old babies, but I'll definitely know by the end of winter when my own baby is born. I found a tutorial for how to make a baby snuggler, a rice-filled fleece warmer that you lay next to the baby to sort of trick them into thinking there's a warm body next to them. I immediately thought of my niece and wondered if it work for her.

Since I've been super frugal lately, I kept putting off going to the store to buy fleece fabric. I have a small stockpile of random cotton fabrics that I had purchased last year during my aforementioned sewing frenzy. As I picked through the pile, I found a fun chevron pattern with lots of bright colors that I thought I work. I think it's important to mention that I'm very much a novice when it comes to sewing, so I loosely followed the instructions in the tutorial. Here's some quick notes if you want to try making one, as well.

Rice-Filled Baby Warmer

1/2 yard cotton or fleece fabric
Rice

1. Cut two rectangular pieces of fabric (mine measured roughly 4 in. × 22 in.; I know that's random, but I just used scrap fabric that I had on hand!).
2. Lay one piece of fabric face up and the second piece on top face down.
3. Sew the edges with a 1/4 in. fabric left on two long sides and one short side. Leave one short side open to fill with rice.
4. Trim the corners off on each side.
5. Flip the fabric inside out. Your corners that you trimmed should be 90 degrees once you're done adjusting the fabric.
6. Sew a trim around the heating pad with 1/4 in. seam.
7. Fill with rice so that you can at least fold it in half to fit in the microwave.
8. Warm in the microwave for 45 seconds when ready to use.
9. Lay the warmer next to the baby.

This was a super quick project, and I made one for my niece and my own baby. I can't wait to try it out, but I'm currently only four months along, so it may be a while before little Oliver or Elanor can test this.