Pretty Dubs

Green Hydrangea & Poinsettia Wreath

2011-12-23T11:17:00.000-08:00

Wow. Where has time gone!

It's interesting having our "first" holidays in our new house. I thought I had a lot of holiday decorations, but now with more space to decorate, I realize that I'm kinda lacking. I came across Vanessa's (from V & Co.) wreath tutorial, and having just taken down my door wreath and needing something new, I made my own. I love it!

I was feeling green. I think blue and green might be my favorite colors. And green wreaths just feel more alive to me. (If you can ever say that about fake flowers.)

Go to her tutorial and using your Joann's coupons (I know I just got some more in the mail), go buy yourself to fake flowers! I think I want some more hydrangeas to fill in mine some more.

Chenille Burp Cloths

2011-11-19T08:32:00.001-08:00

If you want some perfect burp cloths, this is how you should make them! Nothing soaks up baby puke quite the same way as these chenille cloths.

A friend made me some of these when Baby S was recently born and I have loved them. (thanks Lisa!) When someone asked if I sold any burp cloths, these are immediately what I thought of. The originals were chenille on one side and home decor fabric on the other. The only problem I found with that combo is the selection of boyish patterns in the home decor section. I decided to use regular weight fabric and they turned out great. At least I think so. :)

I love that they are cheery, yet soft. When I saw this fabric and Joanns, I couldn't pass it up.

So so soft. I would happily cuddle into this myself.

If you want to make these for your baby, a friend, or yourself :), here are the dimensions. I cut 12x18 pieces of fabric, sewed wrong sides together (leaving a gap to turn them right side out), turned them right side out, sewed edges, and done.

P.S. You might see this same fabric as bow tie onsies...stay tuned because today I'm hosting a Bow Tie Babyshower! It is going to be fun. I can't wait to show you.

Transformation: Coffee Table

2011-11-11T21:20:00.001-08:00

I found the perfect coffee table! Best part is that it was already in our house and just needed a transformation. Free and free. Yes, please.

I had painted a different coffee table and didn't like it for several reasons: 1) it wasn't the right shape (it was oval) for our room and 2) the paint remained sticky on the top. I was going to sand the top and try again, but it wasn't worth it if I didn't like the shape. I am going to sand it down on the top and sell it on craigslist. I could give a half project to someone...we'll see.

So you might recognize our coffee table as our previous yellow desk. It was a great color. The desk was peppy and served a good purpose. Only problem is that my hubs really needed a place to work and I was a desk hog. We have our new desk(s) in place and I'll show them to you soon. (yea!)

With the yellow desk no longer in service, I didn't want to get rid of it. It's old, it doesn't stink (like so many old pieces of furniture), and has great character.

Welcome coffee table. We cut off the legs so the total height of the desk would be 18" and I repainted it dark gray (Sherwin Williams "Backdrop" - if you really want to know). Yes, this is now the 4th color it's been painted...it adds personality.

What it looked like before:

Mulligatawny Soup

2011-11-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

Make today a soup day...and make this! You can look up the name mulligatawny on wikipedia to see a brief definition. Basically, it's a curry soup. Sometimes I'm skeptical of curry flavored meals. I love my curry chicken, but I'm not so sure of curry salad. Anyway, this soup is to die for.

You can find the recipe for Mulligatawny Soup at allrecipes.

Notes on the recipe:
I was making it for a crowd, so I 2 1/2 the recipe. I probably ended up with about 10 cups chicken stock (water with bullion) and 3/4 cup rice. I doubled all other ingredients.

In addition to adding about 1 1/2 Tbsp curry I also added 1 1/2 Tbsp garam masala. I would eat this soup for all three meals in a day. It was that good.

Floating Mantel

2011-11-06T18:48:00.001-08:00

I have seen so many floating mantels on hgtv, on blogs, everywhere. Our fireplace wall needed some omph and I really wanted a rough hewn mantel to give it more of a presence in the room. I found a great tutorial from Addicted 2 Decorating. Anyone can do this!

I am now figuring out how to decorate it. So if you have any good ideas, let me know or send me links.

If you want to know some details of how we did this, here you go!

We used 3 boards for the bulk of the project. We got 1 extra long to have extra scraps for the ends of the mantel.

We banged the boards with hammers, screw drivers, and pliers. Then I stained them with dark walnut stain. After that dried, I put on a coat of poly to seal it. I could have done more coats, but I wanted it to remain more "rough."

With the boards dry, we hooked 2 together with 3 L brackets.

Since it's impossible to use a power drill in the narrow space, we attached the L brackets on the other side first.

This included the end brackets to brace the ends. Make sure to measure in the right distance for these ones.

We had to attach a bracket to the 2 boards already connected for the end pieces as well.

This is what the boards looked like screwed together. Since we had connected the L brackets on the single piece, we just had to drill down to connect it to the bottom piece.

This is slightly fuzzy, but it's showing the end brackets waiting for the end pieces to attach to them.

And the Hubs continued his muscle-strength show and screwed those on. I kinda like him.

So we didn't do a bracket for the bottom edge, but should have. This was an easy solution using a screw to keep it from wiggling.

We had the kids write all over the inside of the "snake coffin" (it really did look like that) and then we took it inside.

I totally forgot to take pictures of our wall during the mounting process. We had no nice supports waiting for us to easily attach our mantel to the wall.

SO...finding the studs, we attached our own 2x4 about 4 feet long. (Measuring the right place to put this is really important). We drilled 2 long L brackets onto the 2x4 so the top of the mantel would have some support once it was in place. (Am I making sense?)

We lifted our "snake coffin," set it onto the 2x4, the L brackets resting on the inside top of the mantel, and drilled from the top of the mantel into the 2x4.

Wow, I don't know if that made sense to you all. But it's secure and I love it.

Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

2011-11-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

Salad for breakfast? What!? Yes, that is what I had this morning. It might have been inspired by Born to Run, my new favorite book.

Buy it here

I don't care if you think you're a runner, or your horrible at running, or you hate running, or you can't run because of medical stuff, this is worth the read. It will motivate you to get moving, no matter how you get that done.

I've always loved running and now have a new passion for it after finishing this book. It's good because it teaches a different form to running than I ran before. Rather than heel-toe running, concentrate on landing on the ball of your feet. Seriously, big difference in form, in pain, and in your calves.

So, yes, I ate salad this morning for breakfast. I know my mom will be telling me that I should have eaten several eggs and meat for breakfast, all about the early protein, but salad actually sounded really good. A variety in meals is always more exciting anyway.

I gave you the Cilantro Lime Ranch recipe earlier, here's another good one to add to your books. It is sweet, but a good combo with any salad.

Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
from Amy Bell (she's a pretty cool friend)

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp poppy seeds

Mix all the ingredients together and chill.

I put this dressing over a mix of lettuce/spinach with diced tomato, red pepper, and pear. Delicious!

Love Hearts

2011-10-31T16:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a closet cleaning, picture hanging, finish painting kind of week...well, the last couple weeks. I have some good projects to show you (really, I just want to brag because I think they look pretty good...humor me...isn't that part of why we all blog anyway?).

So for the first one!

I was watching Emily Henderson on HGTV. She is amazing! She has a fun sense of style and I love how she defines every couple's unique style. In her "style diagnosis" she has little tiny chairs, belts, vases, cups, you name it. The clients have to choose their style and then she reveals to them their unique combined style name.

I was watching the "Eclectic Artsy Odyssey" episode. On her personal blog she breaks down the episode and tells you where she found her decor and any other little secrets about the episode.

In this episode she had some cute little hearts with personalized names all framed and so cool! I wanted some.

image via Emily Henderson

After looking at her blog I found that she purchased the picture from an etsy store Sarah & Bendrix. They have some very fun things and I would have bought something from them, but I happened to have a good shadow box on hand. The call of the wild came and I began punching hearts.

I did have to make a quick trip to Joann Fabrics with my most recent coupons and grab a small heart punch. Then I folded them all in half, decided the area I wanted the hearts in, where to place all our names, and got to work with some glue and steady hands.

And now I have this on my new gallery wall in the office! I have yet to fill some of the other frames (like the sideways picture you see to the right), but we're getting there. Have a fabulous Halloween!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2011-10-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

Why haven't I ever thought of this before!?

I had some leftover pumpkin in the fridge. That, with a desire to make something interesting, became pumpkin pancakes!

I added chocolate chips to some and they are good to eat all by themselves. Think flat pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

For those children in my family who don't like chocolate chips in their pancakes (what?), I made them clean. But then that child topped it with nutella anyway. I don't get it? But both ways are fantastic.

These are the ingredients I used. I made enough pancakes for 4 of us, put in about 1/2 - 3/4 cup scoop of pumpkin, spiced it up with a little nutmeg and generous cinnamon shakes. I added a cinnamon and sugar for sweetness. I wanted them tasty enough to eat without topping with butter (or nutella). I might have made these yesterday for lunch and this morning for breakfast... No milk for cereal calls for desperate measures (if you call this desperate). Enjoy!

S'mores Cookies

2011-10-04T00:15:00.000-07:00

These are very addictive...just warning you. Crackers, chocolate, and marshmallow transformed to cookie shape could never be bad! You make the cookies with chocolate bar pieces (I used the large Hershey's bar, one large chocolate rectangle per cookie) and then after the cookie is baked, stick the marshmallows on top and broil for a couple minutes.

I actually burned the marshmallows on the 2nd batch when I was broiling them. But surprise surprise...it was even better! I didn't think it was possible, but the just over-browned marshmallows made them taste like they actually saw a campfire. I will be doing that on purpose next time!

Here's the link for the recipe from Martha Stewart. Enjoy!

White Bean Chicken Chili

2011-10-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

I was wandering Winco one evening (kidless grocery shopping is heavenly!) and meandered past the magazine isle. I couldn't resist standing there looking through some food recipes. I found one I had to try, but didn't want to buy the whole magazine. Enter scrap paper from bottom of my bag.

I stood between the soft tortilla shells and magazines and wrote out the recipe. Think what you like other shoppers, I'm going to eat some good food! And it was.

Tonight was a rainy overcast day. Not totally cold, but perfect to accompany a warm chili soup. I've had other versions of this using canned green chilies...this was better! The jalapeno was not too spicy (my 5-year-old liked it) and it tasted fresh with the cilantro and poblanos. I probably could have added another lime to make it even better.

White Bean Chicken Chili

(from? I totally forgot to write down which magazine it was)

2 Tbsp oil

1 onion, diced

2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

4 garlic, minced

2 tsp cumin

2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed

6 cups chicken broth

4 cups chicken (I used a rotisserie), chopped

1/4 cup lime juice, from 2 limes

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper

Add oil to pan, when hot, saute onions and peppers until soft, 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and cumin for 30 seconds. Stir in beans and broth.

Remove 3 cups bean mixture and puree in blender until smooth. Stir back into pot and heat for 10 minutes.

Stir in chicken, lime, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Heat through and serve. Garnish with sour cream and grated cheese.

Cold Cucumber Soup

2011-09-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Mommy lunch parties are so fun! I need to start this at my own place. So here's how it goes: you invite other moms, with their kids, to lunch. Easy, right? Then you make some really good food for the moms and something easy for the kids to eat. It feels slightly fancy and like you are letting yourself indulge in something worthwhile.

I was invited to a lunch party and was served cold cucumber soup, caprese sandwich (with mayo and balsamic vinegar mixed together for a dressing...yum!), and pavlova for dessert. Holy heaven!

I had never had a cold soup and I think it might be wrong to call it a soup. Soup makes me think of something warm and chunky. So when you make it, think maybe chunky yogurt (that sounds gross)...okay, maybe...I don't know.

I do think it's best in a small bowl and served with a sandwich. It's the type of thing that you could eat several bites alone and then it tastes better almost as a sauce on something. Totally worth trying. I love the fresh herbs and crispness of the flavor.

Cold Cucumber Soup
From Alisha

1 cup yogurt, can add a little sour cream too
Fresh Basil, chopped (add more of this than mint)
Fresh Mint, chopped
Green onion, chopped
2 Tbsp - 1/4 cup Lemon juice
Salt
1/2 - 1 cup Water
2 cucumbers, seeded and rough chopped
Sour cream or cucumber to garnish

Using a blender, mix all your ingredients together. Add less herbs at first and then add more to taste, same with the lemon juice. Blend so there are still chunks of little cucumbers in the soup. Garnish and enjoy in a small bowl as a side.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Chicken, I grilled mine myself (favorite seasonings: salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder)

Grapes, sliced in half

Celery

Green onions

Apples, diced

Red Pepper, diced (any sweet peppers)

Salted Cashews

Cucumber, diced

Mayo

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix these together in the amounts that suit your fancy. Croissants make everything better! This is one of my favorite sandwiches.

And this is proof that I really have been up to some home decor projects...I'll be excited to do a reveal!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

2011-09-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

My husband doesn't cook. He makes a mean mac and cheese, but that's about it. I'm all the happier because that means my experimenting has free range!

When I think a recipe looks good and attempt to tell him about the ingredients, his eyes glaze over and he says something like, "sounds good?" It's about the same way when he tells me about work with computer chips. So we have our own niches, it's a good thing.

ANYWAY, he was actually the one who saw these and sent me a message that we had to make them. Correction, I had to make them. They've graced our kitchen twice now, one of those times was last night.

Thanks to book club (we read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - I loved it) that I hosted, I now have a pan full of these. There may be some unsuspecting people that might get a little treat today...I know I shouldn't have these sitting around!

Go to Sweet Pea's Kitchen for the recipe. She has some amazing recipes, including more unique brownie recipes.

P.S. I promise I'll be doing a give-away...I decided to paint my whole house, my oldest started Kindergarten, and my baby decided he wanted to be held all the time. We're going through adjustments here. I'm attempting running this morning, as soon as baby wakes up, and I might try my first zumba class tomorrow. I've heard it's a blast! Have a fabulous weekend and I hope you get to work-out too!

Pudding Biscuits: Camping Food

2011-09-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

What's better than a campfire in the woods in Montana? Eating a biscuit with pudding and whip topping inside!

We took a little drive to Montana (okay, more like an 11 hour drive) to go camping with my family (parents, siblings and their spouses, kids' cousins) a couple weeks ago. The whole time I was taking pictures and the phrase, "Bonnie has a blog," came up constantly. So camping food, you were not forgotten. And no matter how serious or humorously it was said, here you go.

My dad made two rounded wooden pegs to stretch the dough over. Sorry I can't direct you to any store-bought wonder. He's pretty crafty.

Pudding Biscuits

Oil

1 can Philsbury buiscuts

Snack pack vanilla pudding

Whip Topping

Oil the stick. Take one buiscut out of the can and place top and work down, making sure you don't break the dough. Bake over the fire/coals rotating slowly. You want to cook it slow so the inside gets cooked along with the outside. When it's browned and baked, slide off the stick and fill with pudding and whip. Delish!

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

2011-09-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

So I have a fabulous neighbor who enjoys yummy treats as much as I do! This is a recipe you have to try. The cake is so moist and fresh with the real strawberries. I loved every bite!

Strawberry Cupcakes
recipe courtesy of Cast Sugar (adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 1/3 c. whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
1 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/4 c. whole milk, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

Place strawberries and honey in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 2/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Sprinkles' Strawberry Frosting
recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart
Makes enough for 1 dozen cupcakes (this is such a lie! It makes a ton!).

1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

Over 100!

2011-08-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

So remember when summer took over our lives? It did for me and has been tons of fun! This past couple of weeks have been crazy busy with camping, playing with friends, and suffering in a Portland heat wave (that has since cooled off...at least until this weekend). I have camping recipes ready to share with you - dutch oven cooking is the best.

Something else happened around here - there are now over 100 followers for Pretty Dubs. I'm happy that I've been able to share some things that you all enjoy. It makes this blog totally worth it. SO IN CELEBRATION...I want to make something to give away. BUT I think it would be fun to have your input.

My idea is a ruffle apron. Is there anything on here that you'd enjoy seeing as a giveaway?

This corn was awesome while we were camping. Fresh and moist, although we boiled it instead of putting it over the fire.

Summer Salad Tasting and Recipe Exchange

2011-08-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Such a fun night last night! We haven't had any recipe exchanges among friends for a while and this was a perfect kick-off. We each brought a salad recipe, labeled it with its name and ours, and took turns tasting everything.

We plan on continuing our food parties by volunteering to host/pick a dish type or ingredient and have started a blog to document The Recipes. The person running the blog for us took pictures at the event to post along with the recipe. Awesome idea.

So if you wanted to start a food swap like this, send an email to your friends with the date/time/place and with the instructions to either bring a recipe or email it to you for an electronic distribution (however you want to plan yours). You will also need to specify the food type. For example, it could be *salads, desserts, meatless main dishes, drinks, breakfast foods OR you could even choose an ingredient, saying everyone has to bring something with feta or chili powder or chicken, etc. Have fun!

Bean Salad

1 can green beans

1 can white beans

1 can red kidney beans

1 can garbanzo beans

1 can black beans

1/4 - 1/2 red onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp ground dry mustard

1 tsp dried tarragon

Drain all the beans and mix together in a large bowl. Add the diced onion, diced green and red peppers, and chopped cilantro. Set aside. In a small saucepan, mix the vinegar, oil, sugar, dry mustard, and tarragon over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and pour over bean mixture. Stir until all ingredients are coated. Let sit in the fridge to marinate, stirring occasionally. (Still good if eaten right away) *Hominy is also a yummy ingredient to add.

Original source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/three-bean-salad-i/detail.aspx

A Busy Week

2011-08-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

The last couple weeks have been busy around here. I helped one of the young women from our church make a quilt, had my sister and her hubs visit, and worked a ton in the yard. Yesterday I had to top it off with some cinnamon rolls. I can't believe we're on the count-down for summer to end! It has flown by.

I'll show a picture of the finished quilt, I don't want to spoil it. But here's the fabric we used and it turned out beautiful!

I did practice some heel kick at the beach! It was a beautiful day and we had tons of fun. The famous Cannon Beach domes are in the background.

If you ever go to Cannon Beach, go the the Ecola Seafood place. (bad name...hmmm) All their fish is fresh and their fish and chips are the best I've ever tasted!

The kids are really enjoying our new swing set!

And then we did squeeze in some puppet making project time. I was a cool mom that day! (Sometimes I feel like a slacker, but making puppets clothing from fabric makes up for it...maybe)

And this is what I ate for breakfast! I made and delivered some warm cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting last night. I don't know why taking baked goods to people makes me happy...but I'm glad it does. The only downfall is that I end up eating way to many myself. Find the recipe here, but the frosting recipe is this one: doubled, minus the cocoa, and plus 4 oz of cream cheese.

Lay Baby Lay

2011-08-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

I happened upon an awesome nursery decorating blog. Joni at lay baby lay makes design boards for nursery decorating ideas. I wish I had a room for a nursery, but don't. Even so, there are some awesome pieces and inspiration in her vignettes. You'll be sucked in.

She has this free printable. Love it. It's printed in blue and ready to find a frame. You can find it here.

Fresh Raspberry Pie

2011-07-30T05:27:00.000-07:00

Have you been watching "So you think you can dance"? I'm totally in to it. I'm vying for Melanie or Sacha for the girls and maybe Tad for the boys. How about you?

The show airs on Wednesday night and on Thursday I still hadn't watched it yet. As luck would have it, I got a call from a friend bribing me with Fresh Raspberry Pie if I let her crash my place to watch with me. And she even provided hamburgers for all of us. I took the deal.

Both our kids played, we watched, we ate, we talked dance, and she left some awesome pie for me. I'm in love with pie.

I know my Father-in-law will love me forever if I get this recipe for him. He gags at all fruit but raspberries (weird to gag at fruit, but it's true). This will get his attention!

On my doorstep today

2011-07-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

The kids always get excited when someone knocks on the door. And thankfully wait for me before swinging it open to whatever unsuspecting person is on the other side.

Today I opened it to some Marionberry Pie in the most quaint jar. I had never even seen pie in a jar before and this was so perfectly beautiful. It pays to have awesome neighbors. I'd eat dinner at Carrie's house every night!

I did have to open the lid right on my doorstep. Seriously. Look at the work that went into this sweet morsel!

The crust was awesome. Flaky yet doughy and the tartness/sweetness of the berries matched perfect with it. I am one lucky girl.

Have you seen Aubrey and Lindsay?

2011-07-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

I think I might have found one of the coolest blogs out there. Seriously, you have to check out Aubrey + Lindsay's Blog.

These are my favorite things I've found so far.

You know how I am enjoying my own silhouettes, so these are right up my alley. I love how she represented herself and husband as very formal characters with their own names under. Posh.

I want this bed, I want this dresser, I want the clean fresh look. I love it. Seriously though, this bedside dresser used to be a plain ikea dresser. Now it's gorgeous.

How cool to decorate with Monopoly cards?!

And especially for those who feel like they have a non-sewing ability, this you can do. Isn't felt amazing.

And I am totally getting one of these from her etsy shop for my Miss A. She will love it. The ABCD song is her all-time favorite.

Okay, I could go on. I think I just might be feeling inspired right now. Hope you are too!

Fava Beans

2011-07-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

A friend just gave me a bunch of fava beans...umm, what are they? So I found this recipe that looks promising from 101 Cookbooks. Does anyone have a fava bean recipe that they like?

P.S. Carrie, I'm bringing you some of these when I make something.

picture from 101 cookbooks

Valance to Apron

2011-07-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is all about repurposing your window treatments!

A while ago I made this kitchen valance. Then I decided that I didn't like the color palette (remember how I'm doing blue and white now...). I took it down and the received several comments from people asking where it went.

One of my good friends had really liked it. So I decided to give her two choices 1) have the valance or 2) I would turn it into a half apron for her.

Apron it was...and is.

I could have added pom-poms to the bottom, or a ruffle, or pockets, or etc, etc, etc. But I decided that it was cute how it was. I cut off a section of the valance, hemmed that side, and attached some ribbon ties. Done and done. She loves it and I'm happy that is made someone's day.

Speaking of repurposing window treatments, remember how I used a panel to make a crib skirt? Seriously, so many possibilities.

Miracle Unstuffed Bell Peppers

2011-07-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

In my perusing for new recipes (thanks to Sparks in the new Google+!), I've found some great foodie blogs. Here's a recipe from Heat Oven to 350. They have some really yummy stuff over there.

Best of all, is when I find a new recipe to try and have ALL of the ingredients on hand. This is one of them. Rather than stuffing the peppers, you slice them and throw them into the rice mixture at the end of cooking. Anything with color is way more exciting to eat.

The Hubs just kept saying "wow" and "what is this miracle?" when he was eating. I think that was a thumbs up. (score!)

It has a great flavor between the bay leaf, parmesan, brown sugar, bacon, and crushed red pepper. It goes all over the place and pleases your whole pallet.

Here's the last ingredients waiting for the rice. Crumbled bacon, seasoned chicken (my favorite seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano...delish!), and colored peppers.

Blue and White, Minus the Nautical Vibe

2011-07-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

I finally have a color palette for our downstairs. (Everyone cheer please!) I have always loved blues and should have just known, but now it's decided. I love a navy blue with crisp white. It's clean, it's classic, and it's so pretty. Yea!!

I picked up this coffee table at a garage sale. (Along with the $3 sander!) And put the kids to work. Really though, they were so excited to sand.

After a couple paint coats, wa-lah, I have a fabulous blue coffee table.

Question for you: The top seems a little sticky. Has anyone had this problem and remedied it somehow? Is there a solution to coat the paint with that seals it more, so it isn't sticky?

BEFORE

AFTER

This pillow is my inspiration. I LOVE it. I found it at Target several months ago and had to buy it. Now, I can't find it anywhere. I would love fabric like this for my kitchen valance. Has anyone seen this for purchase somewhere?

And I love how it's blue and white but not nautical. I'm thinking navy and white chevron would make for good pillows too. Really, I just want to find all the blue and white fabric possibilities out there. So please send me your favorites if you find any!

Parmesan Garlic Rolls

2011-07-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

These melt in your mouth. I promise. Add a little butter, fat, and cheese to anything and it's bound to be delicious.

A friend brought these to us after Little S was born. We devoured them. The tray below was eaten in less than 1/2 hour at our house. I'm dead serious, they are that good.

These are Melinda's signature rolls she takes to new moms, so I had to promise NOT to copy her. Pinky promise. Thank you thank you thank you for sharing your recipe on this one!

Parmesan Garlic Rolls
From Melinda

1 dozen frozen Rhodes Rolls
2 Tbsp Butter
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Garlic Salt
Dried Parsley

Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray. Melt butter in a bowl. Prepare mayo and parmesan also in separate bowls. Dip each frozen roll (just the top 1/2) in 1st - the butter, 2nd - the mayo, and 3rd - the parmesan. Lay out the dipped rolls on your baking sheet. After they are all dipped, sprinkle with garlic salt and dried parsley. Let rise about 4 hours, until doubled. Preheat oven to 350. Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.

I'm not certain if you've caught it yet...but I love my carbs. All things bread are wonderful. Wheat Thins are the best cracker alive. So if you have a good bready recipe that I need to try, please send it my way!

P.S. Speaking of carbs, do you let your kids eat crackers/granola bars/anything in the car? Mine make a complete mess. Yesterday I started a new game...whoever makes the least amount of crumbs while eating wins. SUCCESS! I don't know why I didn't think of this one before. If you say anything in a happy and competitive tone, they totally buy into it. My car is quite clean.

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Yogurt Pie

2011-07-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

Yogurt in a pie? No way. That sounds weird and kinda gross...but then I tried it.

Hands down. My favorite pie. End of story.

This past month when the grandparents were in town, Tyler's mom whipped this up for us to try. It can be eaten without toppings. Or you can mix it up with fresh fruit or little chocolate chips. I'm not sure you could make it wrong.

Yogurt Pie

From Deanna

1 pkg crushed graham crackers

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup chopped pecans and/or walnuts (if you omit these, only do 1/3 cup butter)

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg yolk

1 cup powdered sugar

dash of salt

1 Tbsp milk, as needed

16 oz yogurt (I used raspberry)

1 small cool whip

fruit, fresh or frozen, chopped

fresh fruit or chocolate chips (optional toppings)

First make your graham cracker crust. Preheat your oven to 350. Mix your crushed graham crackers and chopped nuts with the butter. Press into 2 pie tins. Cook for 10 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

Second, mix together the vanilla, egg yolk, powdered sugar, and salt. If it's too thick, add some milk. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar. Divide in half and spread on the bottom of your pie crusts.

Last, mix together the yogurt, cool whip, and fruit. Spread over the top of your pies. Let set for several hours or overnight. This allows the cool whip to firm the yogurt, preventing gooshing when the pie is sliced.

Eat with or without toppings.

The first powdered sugar layer. Spread thin and wide.

Also, thanks to people leaving their garbage by the dumpster, we scored a Little Tykes Town Playhouse and Slide! I dragged it from the dumpster down the street. The kids thought we were pretty cool. I was happy for the $450 still in my pocket.

For the record, does anyone else have better navigation skills than their husband? I'm pretty sure I wear the pants on that one. :)

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Taco Cones

2011-07-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

Last week we ate the same thing for dinner about 4 nights in a row. Lame. I love the costco unbaked tortillas with sliced chicken patties and veggies, but it feels so un-creative.

I've stepped it up for this week.

You might remember these from an earlier post (with recipe). They are SO much better with the unbaked tortillas (baked before eating...of course). I was feeding a crowd, so I added taco beef as well to the mix.

Par-tay in your mouth.

And in case you didn't know, one of my favorite things is a full bottle of Shout Spray-n-wash. It's a funny thing to be gleeful about, but I can't help myself.

Another random thought - today we were at the park and I was glad it wasn't my kid who took of their pants and decided to run around naked. That can't make going down the slide any easier. :)

Marshmallow Lollipops

2011-07-10T23:29:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I'd like these. I mean for real, this looks like kid heaven (peeps are gross). Wrong! Sure you can eat them right after you dip them, the chocolate still warm, fondue like. However, I let these set up and the crunch of the chocolate on the marshmallows was perfect.

So if you're in the mood for smores without the mess...you have to try the ones rolled in crushed graham crackers. The kids loved them all. I found the idea from Whimsical Creations.

*Quote from my 5-year-old: "Mom, I love chocolate. If I see chocolate, I just have to eat it." I know exactly how he feels.

Chair Facelift

2011-07-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

I scored a great chair in my craigslist perusing (I'm an addict) and had my friend Lisa work her magic. Who doesn't love a distressed black chair!?

As for the chair cushion, I was thinking a black and white chevron would look great. Then I thought frugally and went to my fabric stash. I had to have something that would work, right? Yes I did.

Using a leftover yard from some fabric wall art, probably at least 3 years ago, I had the perfect patterned canvas. Thank you ikea fabrics.

Welcome new computer desk chair. Low arms, great lines, perfect find.

Before

After

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I WILL own this light

2011-07-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

Words cannot describe...

In June's edition of Elle Decor, they highlighted Keri Russell's home and I love everything about it. I'm sure her light cost more than a couple pennies, but isn't it beautiful?

photo courtesy Elle Decor

This is what I'll be getting instead. It just might be a happy birthday present to myself...when that day eventually rolls around again.

photo courtesy overstock.com

Cilantro Lime Ranch

2011-07-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't made ranch from scratch, now is the time. I don't mean the hidden valley ranch packets mixed with mayo. I mean the buttermilk, mayo, spice cupboard type; along with a hint of lime.

After some friends invited us to dinner, and they put on quite the impressive spread, I couldn't resist asking for her secret. I think I love dinner parties so much because I am intrigued by new recipes and ideas. So if you invite me or bring something yummy to me, expect me to bug you for the recipes.

A potato salad recipe is coming to mind.

I digress.

Cilantro Lime Ranch
1/2 pint buttermilk
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream (or mayo if you're not a sour cream lover)
1/2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced

Mix all ingredients together using beaters. Adjust seasonings to taste. If it's too thin, add more mayo, too thick, add more buttermilk.

I can't decide if I'm eating salad to be healthy or to eat more dressing. I think it might be the latter. I'm pretty sure I'm a sauce person.

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Girly Hooter Hider

2011-07-01T00:18:00.000-07:00

I love a good girly hooter hider, especially when the mom is having a boy. It should be all about mom's personality and feeling pretty, she's the one wearing it!

I loved making this hooter hider *yes I know they are also called nursing covers...but that's not a very fun name*. Little man K's preschool teacher is expecting boy #2 and I couldn't resist this last gift when school ended.

For those looking to make one, they are easy and make fun gifts. It takes less than a yard of material and some boning. Next one I make I'll have to do a tutorial. Cheers to the pregos out there!

Sandwiches for Lunch

2011-06-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

It seems that I'm often throwing something random in my mouth for lunch. I've decided that I needed something better than that.

First, it will actually be something healthy...not that mac and cheese isn't sometimes.

Second, it will taste good.

Third, it will fill me so I don't want to snack on the peanut butter cookies that I made.

(P.S. Have you ever had nutella on a peanut butter cookie? Don't. You won't be able to stop eating them.)

So my solution to the lunch problem is sandwiches. You could also do wraps in tortillas or pita bread. I make sure to have lunch meat on-hand and load on the veggies. I love making a sandwich that can barely be eaten because of the amount of colorful healthy things inside.

And my husband is also grateful for the change from peanut butter and jelly for his lunch to this. Our favorite bread is Dave's Killer Bread. It is amazing! And has an awesome story to go with it. You should check it out. I wish you a happy sandwich day.

AND Look for a homemade ranch dressing recipe soon. Why did I ever buy a packet?? Thank you, Alisha.

Silhouettes of the Kids

2011-05-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

I've decided I really don't like blank walls. It's hard to know what and where to put things. I think that sometimes my fear of doing it right makes me nervous to do it at all. Don't worry, I will be, but I am anxious about it looking good all together. It's hard to put a house together piece by piece and hope it looks good. Is there a key of where to start? Do you do couches and a rug first, curtains, maybe some wall decor, paint? Seriously, decorating is a little trickier than it looks and hard to start from a completely blank slate.

Often decorating schemes start from a favorite rug or painting that you pull colors from. We don't even have that, so it makes it a little harder. However, it is a fun learning process and it will happen over time.

So for a start, here's my kids silhouettes! I love love how they turned out. Each of them totally describes their personality right now. I found the tutorial from my friend Rachel's blog What I Made Today, now you can make them too. Everyone is doing it. :)

Boy K needed a haircut and decided he wanted a mohawk. Against my better judgement, we gave it to him and if spiked, it doesn't look half bad. But I am glad he doesn't like it that much and wants to cut it off. This is his rocker pose. Seriously, this says so much about him: does he make silly faces constantly at the camera, yes; rolling eyes at the camera, yes; doing his own dressing, even if it's wearing 2 pairs of athletic shorts over each other (it's cool - and yes, I let him wear them to preschool), yes.

On the other hand, Girl A is very photogenic and loves to have her picture taken. She'll pose nicely for me and do princess smiles. She's a happy girl and this is a perfect capture of her laughing when I took her picture.

You might question me saying this is a personality shot, but I think it's perfect. Here's our Little Boy S. He's cute, he doesn't know how to smile yet, and he had blue eyes. He's bald, squirmy, and has stinky diapers. He's a baby and this is the perfect pose for him.

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Mom's Crescent Rolls

2011-05-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

I love these rolls! They just might be my favorite recipe. A while ago I made some fluffier crescent rolls that were recommended from a friend (you can find that recipe here) and they were great. If you're going for a really bready fluffy roll, that's the one.

This recipe has a hint of sweetness, the roll actually unrolls from itself, is buttery, and they also freeze well. This is always the roll my Mom made at holidays and while she was helping after the baby was born, I asked her to make these for us. The kids love helping with this one as well!

Crescent Rolls

Makes about 60 rolls (or more if you roll your rounds thiner and slice more)

1 cup warm water

4 pkgs yeast

3 cups lukewarm milk

1 cup sugar

4 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 cup shortening, softened

14 cups flour, divided (might be less)

1/2 cup softened butter (might be a bit more)

Measure warm water into a mixing bowl and add yeast, stirring to dissolve. Let it sit for only about 5 minutes and mix in milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 7 cups flour. Mix more flour in a cup or 2 at a time. You want the dough to be as soft as possible, almost sticky, just so you're able to handle it.

Add enough remaining flour to handle easily. Turn onto lightly floured board and kneed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Round up in a greased bowl, greased side up. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down, let rise again until almost double, about 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 4 balls. Roll out on lightly floured surface to 1/4" thickness in a large circle. Spread softened butter on top. Using a pizza cutter, cut the circle in halves, fourths, etc, etc, etc, about 12-16 per circle, depending on your desired roll size.

Beginning at the large end of your slices (the rounded edge), roll up. Place them on a greased pan, with the point of the roll tucked under the bottom of each roll (or it will come unrolled during cooking). Let rise 15-20 minutes. Bake at 400 for 10-13 minutes until lightly brown on top. You can also spread butter on the tops after cooking to make the tops even softer. Sink your teeth into goodness!

5 Minute Chili

2011-05-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

We need fast meals sometimes. Now that I'm often cradling Baby S in one arm, cooking is a little bit different paced. This is a fast go-to recipe. (and yes, I shop at Winco)

5 Minute Chili

1 can tomato sauce
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can chili
1 can petite tomatoes
1 can pinto beans
1 can green chilies

Open all cans, rinse beans, mix all together in pan until heated. Eat.
Optional (but delicious): Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, diced sweet peppers, diced tomatoes, tortilla chips

*I don't always have each of these cans around, maybe use chick peas instead of pinto beans or 2 cans of tomatoes if you don't have sauce. It's one of those flexible recipes that are a great one to raid to cupboards for and keep on hand.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-05-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

We love nutella around here. I've even found my husband dipping a snickers bar in it. So his idea was that I should make some nutella cookies. I know there's recipes that actually have nutella as an ingredient, like this one from Simply Recipes, but I wanted to just use the basic ingredients of hazelnuts and chocolate. I might have thrown some white chocolate chips in there as well.

I found the recipe from Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis.

Here's my tips:

1. I roasted the hazelnuts. After roasting the brown skin comes off with a little bit of rubbing.

2. I added at least a extra cup of flour and they are still a pretty flat cookie. I think I will add more next time.

3. I used Ghiradelli chocolate and white chocolate chips - so good!

4. I didn't have any toffee bars and they were still scrumptious.

5. Give them away, otherwise you'll find yourself eating ALL of them. They were awesome cookies!

Now go make some. And be warned, the cookie dough is really yummy.

He arrived!

2011-05-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

We couldn't be happier around here! A cute little baby boy has joined our party and we are all excited he's here. My older kids, Boy K and Girl A are so happy to hold Baby S all the time and point out his tiny body parts. He is a happy baby who cries little, sleeps well, and is happy to be lovingly poked. Girl A is enamored by his "tiny cheeks" and Boy K loves his sleep smiles.

The delivery went well. I was middle of the road about getting an epidural and going natural. I had an epidural with both the others, but had weird reactions to it with more numbness than normal. It made me nervous to do it again. SO...drum roll...I did it natural.

It is its own experience and very painful and super intense, but rewarding and cool at the same time. I wasn't trying to earn stripe or any mom badges, I think I was more curious to how it all felt. I'm glad I did it, but I can't answer for sure right now that I'd do it again. Yes, I might have done some screaming, I've heard of people being totally quiet and in "the zone" for that. I don't know how they do that. Anyway, he's healthy, I'm healthy, and I'm kicking it into gear around here. This is gonna be fun!

Pleated Flower Decor

2011-04-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've had this cute round frame (spray painted black) that has been calling for some love. So with no baby yet, I'm continuing small project detail. (My husband says no painting or stenciling walls right now).

Laura over at Craftaholics Anonymous is pretty cool. She has lots of fun things to look at and make...this is one that I had to try!

I did a hot glue method, twisting and glueing as I went. I also did one really long strand instead of a couple.

I covered some cardboard from a lucky charms box with this fabric. Who says sugary cereal isn't good for something!

And I glued.

And glued.

And then it was done. Here's the back.

Here's the front.

And here's my fabulous new home decor. I glued it on the back fabric and choose a pearly button for the center. I'm not sold on the black and white back fabric, I think I might end up changing it to something gray and chic. We'll see. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the spunk it gives my living room.

Candied Walnut Spinach Salad with Vinaigrette

2011-04-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors down the street invited us for Easter dinner. Due to a bought of food poisoning for my son, we were unable to attend. However, they said to walk down, fill our plates, and enjoy eating at home. We took them up on the offer! And so so so good! The crock pot ham, funeral potatoes, slightly cheese asparagus, spinach salad, and carrot muffins with cream cheese frosting. For real, nothing better than a meal that pleases your entire tongue.

So I asked her for the salad dressing info and she gave me her vinaigrette recipe. I made it yesterday and my jaw couldn't eat fast enough when I was eating my salad. This combo is amazing! She had candied walnuts (or pecans?) in the salad and I had to whip some of those up to add as well.

Basic Vinaigrette
From Carrie Law

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp minced shallot
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp fresh or 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Shake together in glass jar. Refrigerate up to 7 days.

AND for the candied walnuts, here is the recipe for them.

Candied Walnuts

From allrecipes

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup sugar

In a skillet over medium heat, heat walnuts and sugar, stirring constantly. Sugar will dissolve into a light brown liquid and coat the walnuts. Stir until walnuts are evenly coated. Remove walnuts from skillet and spread on a piece of aluminum foil to cool. Serve with salad or eat as is. Scrumptious!

And then combine it all together in this salad.

Candied Walnut Spinach Salad

Spinach
Cucumber, sliced and quartered
Apples, halved and thinly sliced
Candied walnuts
Craisins
Feta cheese
Grapes, halved

Toss salad with vinaigrette dressing.

P.S. If you want to know what I ate for Easter Breakfast...go to this post to find out how to make Creamed Eggs and Biscuits. (and I totally forgot to do the rainbow cake this year...)

Oilcloth Bag

2011-04-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to prep for teacher appreciation week and made this cute bag today. I have 1 or 2 left to make. I have the left-over oilcloth from covering my kitchen chairs. I think they turned out really cute and so versatile.

I would have loved to make them like Purl bee's bag, but didn't have enough material for it.

I hope they like them!

Painting a Desk

2011-04-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Nesting is continuing at my house. I'm going to bed every night with dishes done, bathrooms wiped down, and the floor swept, I'm taking down curtains that have been hanging and returning them, I'm sewing random things, I'm organizing closets, I've even gone to the garage and wiped out tool boxes and separated screws from nails.

One more thing to add to the list is painting this desk. I first painted it green...it wasn't the right color. I hated looking at it and kept imagining something better. THIS is it. I love love love it. I'm leaving orange (goodbye, orange!) as a decor color and going to do something different. And although I just made the kitchen valance, it's going too. My husband just laughs at my randomness right now. It's a fun stage of pregnancy.

This desk was a craigslist find. It has old separator drawers, too - totally antique. I really like the wood grain top.

And just in case you don't believe that I'm prego...here a little self-pic from yesterday. Right after this my kids tackled me and we had a funny picture taking session of ourselves. It was great!

Car Seat Cover

2011-04-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've seen so many cute covers out there for infant car seats. I decided to join the club. I followed the tutorial from the blog Hippos and Dinosaurs and it's really simple. I did almost the same as she did. I used a yard of printed fabric and a yard of fleece, but for the straps, I made them 10 inches long and wider.

Funny thing, I was debating whether or not to make it, but is was still being rainy enough outside, so I went for it. Then the day I made it and since has been quite nice and less rainy. Of course. Here's to being prepared anyway!

Orzo with Shrimp

2011-04-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was beautiful. The sun was out and I can even tell that our 2 1/2 hours at the park paid off on my winter white skin. We topped of the afternoon with making this Orzo with Shrimp from Giada De Laurentiss. I have her cookbook Everyday Pasta and this week I'm pulling recipes from it for dinners.

It was delicious! And definitely a keeper. If you're a shrimp and lemon lover, you've got a new one to try.

Orzo with Shrimp

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp saffron threads (I didn't have any, I just used a food colorer to make the orzo yellow)
1 lb orzo (small, rice-shaped pasta)
7 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used 1 1/2 lbs precooked and then heated them in the sauce)

In a large pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, bringing the broth to a simmer. Add the saffron (if using), stir, and simmer until the saffron has "bloomed," about 5 minutes. (Having never cooked with saffron, I have no idea what this means). Return the heat to medium and bring the stock to a boil, then add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the orzo and transfer to a large bowl. Add 4 Tbsp of olive oil (I added about 2-3), the parsley, half the lemon juice, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper and combine thoroughly.

In a bowl, toss the shrimp with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and the remaining lemon juice. Heat the remaining 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook until the shrimp are just turning pink, about 2 minutes per side. Add the shrimp to the bowl with the orzo. Toss to combine and serve.

*Can be a side without the shrimp. This can be served warm, but it's also nice at room temperature, making it a good option for picnics or buffet spreads.

Throwing manure...for real

2011-04-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

This is just in case you think I'm serious. I'm not. This is an official foot-pop-manure-throw over the fence into the garden. This is what real housewives do. :) This picture is from a while ago, but a friend just recently sent it to me. I was laughing hard thinking of us out there in the morning doing weeding, manuring, and enjoying a visit over the roosters crowing. Spring mornings in Sacramento are fabulous. I'm missing a little bit more sunshine, but I know it will come here in Portland.

In the meantime...don't worry about a little bit of poop.

Toy Story Martian Birthday Cake

2011-04-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

It was just my 5-year-old's birthday and he ordered a Toy Story theme with Martian cake attached. I have a bear mold, that carved as desired, can be whatever you order. I think he turned out really cute! Think "the claw."

Here is the chocolate bear sandwiched together. I held the sides together with icing and skewers. After pointing the ears and carving off the nose, tail, and eyes, I was ready to frost.

Here's what I was going for, in case you were wondering.

Happy Birthday!

Kitchen Valance and Snickerdoodles

2011-04-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

My kitchen window is visible from the front door, so it really needed some spunk. Now when you walk in, you have cheeriness waiting for you.

And since yesterday was a Sunday, I had to do some baking. It was a Snickerdoodle day and the recipe I've been using was passed to me from my mom-in-law...from one of her friends. Phew, did you get all that? Anyway, they are awesome and moist and delicious. Enjoy.

Snickerdoodles

From Barbara Skovensky

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Topping:

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until smooth. In another bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well. Preheat oven to 300 degrees (I used 315) and let dough rest for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Take about 2 Tbsp dough and roll into ball. Roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes and no more. Allow cookies to cool on pan for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack. The cookies may seem undercooked, but will continue to develop after they are removed from the oven.

Makes approximately 3 dozen.

Recovered Chairs

2011-04-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have about a month until your due date? Do a bunch of projects on the list and nest like crazy. Yes, I'm in the nesting phase right now.

If I go until my due date, I'm 2 days short of 4 weeks out. If I go about 10 days early, like my other kids, I'm 2 weeks and 2 days away. I'm preparing like it's the latter and if not, then I guess I'll get even more done before our little guy shows up.

We picked up this table and chairs on craigslist right before Christmas. The owners were super nice and stored it for us until we moved into our new place in January. I really wanted to cover the seats in something washable - so with my first visit to Craft Warehouse (where have I been!?), I walked away with some awesome oilcloth!

I'm already loving that I can wipe play dough and juice right off these babies! First time using oilcloth, check, love it, check.

Layered Girls Skirt

2011-04-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

I've got to say that making my little girl skirts is so easy and satisfying. Not only does she look cute after and enjoy wearing them, but they are the simplest and quickest project.

Take a rectangle of fabric, sew ends together, hem the bottom, sew a casing for the top (leaving a gap), in the gap thread some elastic, sew elastic, and finish sewing the casing. Wa lah!

I wanted to make this one a bit more fun. So I added two addition fabrics to the bottom, making the skirt 3-tiered. Now that spring is officially on its way, it will be fun to make more dresses and skirts for her...knowing they'll actually get to be used!

Silly Sock Day

2011-04-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

At preschool for letter S week, my son was supposed to wear silly socks. Their suggestion was mismatched socks...we might have taken it a bit further.

We both came up with ideas for shapes to cut out of felt and then hot glued them onto the socks. It was awesome! He had the best socks there - at least I think so.

Curtains to Crib Skirt

2011-04-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

This really was one of the thriftiest and easiest ideas I've heard in a while! I was telling a friend how I wanted to make a crib skirt because they cost WAY to much money in store.

This is her genius idea: use an Ikea curtain. I'm sure it would work with any other curtain too, this was just her comment, and I happened to have 2 on-hand.

A while back I made curtains for our apartment in California. They had Velcro across the top and I embellished with some red and white fabric. If you want to see that post, go here. That was barely over a year ago. They were taken down and put in the excess fabric bin until now.

Yesterday, I took one and laid it out wrong side up (I didn't feel like taking the time to take off the red/white fabric).

See, no red/white fabric and the material already has small running stitches, so it didn't matter.

Then using a sharpie and measuring tape, I used the running stitches as guidelines, and marked my lengths to cut.

The very bottom of the drape I used as the front of the skirt. A width of this curtain fits almost perfectly across the crib front. The sides are almost exactly half the width of the front. However, I still cut one for each, you could get away with chopping one in half and hemming the side. The bottom was 27" and the 2 sides (since they would need a bottom hem) were cut 28".

Then I embellished the front of the crib skirt. Easy, something attractive, and simple.

So here's what I've been looking at under the crib (such a good place for storage!).

And now I see this! I'm loving it.

The HOW-TO: put the front piece in position and TAPE to the board (that your crib mattress sits on). Duct tape would work best, but I just used clear packing tape. It's what I had on-hand. You will have about 5 inches extra to work with. For the sides I folded the fabric in half and did the same tape job.

Why tape? Well, eventually we'll lower the crib mattress as our little boy becomes jumpy and mobile, this way I can reposition the skirt to meet the height of the mattress. Easy and the skirt doesn't move around! Nothing more annoying that a wiggly bed skirt when you change the sheets.

So that's it. I do like it. It was easy, functional, not overly bold, and repurposed!

A side-note. Here's a blanket that I just received from my mom-in-law. She has been a crocheter in the past, but has give up her needles for this instead. She did a great job! The little ruffly edges are impeccably cut even. Hours of love went into this one.

Linking to:

Ah, Drapes!

2011-03-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

My living and dining room are thanking me now. I couldn't wait for my hubby to hang the rods, I was too excited. I pulled our tall ladder out, measured, drilled lots of holes, and positioned my own drapes. I felt pretty proud of myself. And ALL in studs. I think he was more worried about me drilling holes in the walls than my pregnant self up on a tall ladder.

I love how the drapes give the whole wall softness. I love that they go floor to ceiling.

Here is the living room. I'm not going to show the dining room yet because I can't open the windows for natural light (construction on the house next to us gives us no privacy on that side of the house right now).

P.S. You can see the black beauty I found on craigslist on the right side of the picture. Love it, although I need to treat the musty smell inside of it.

So more fabric. I was realizing how much you can see right to our kitchen windows when you walk in the front door. I need a really good fabric for that valence. Here's a couple more I found from Premier Fabrics. I think whatever I choose for fabric I'll do piping in different color that's also going in the room.

For example, this maybe with the rust orange piping.

And maybe this with a panel of blue on the top or bottom (love some of the 2-tone looks), topped off with the rust orange piping.

And to give you more FOOD.

This has been my breakfast for the last couple of days, except this morning I had strawberry and whip cream crepes.

Peach yogurt, strawberries, and cinnamon Life cereal. I love this kind of combo.

And for a really yummy (and versatile) STROGANOFF recipe. The story with this one comes from my husband. This is the stroganoff he grew up with from his Grandma. The family would come together, the grandkids swimming in the pool ALL day long, and the smell of stroganoff ALWAYS simmering on the stove in the kitchen. It's a smell he remembers her by. This is serious comfort food - warm, saucy, and filling. Love it.

BEEF STROGANOFF

From the late Mums (Grandma)

1 ½ lb Beef

2 Tbsp Shortening

1 can Tomato soup

1 Tbsp Worchester sauce

½ chopped Onion

½ lb Mushrooms

1 Clove garlic

1 cup Sour Cream

6-8 drops Tabasco

½ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Dredge (sprinkle/coat meat with flour) and brown beef, add onion & mushrooms. Sauté lightly. Add rest

of ingredients. Cover and let simmer slowly for 1 ½ hr. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Options: You can use ground beef/turkey/whatever or sliced steak (works great if you have leftovers from, let's say, steak fajitas the night before - that's what I did the last time I made it)

**I didn't have mushrooms on hand this time, but I added diced red and yellow pepper and it was really good.

Curry Chicken...with bananas

2011-03-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

So my craftiness has been kind-of non-existent in the sewing and glue gun department. However, I think I know what colors I want to decorate with! Does that count?

My time has been filled with trying to make every corner of stuff I do have organized. I really want to have a place, and know it, before I bring in more...and have a baby.

So here's something for you to drool on. I'm thinking of blues, browns, and oranges for my great room space, with some pops of yellows. I'm crushing on this chair from, would you guess, Target?

Canary Print Slipper Chair

Isn't that so much fun! Right now I have some cinnamon tweed curtains to hang, a whopping 108" in length and crushed voile sheers, I hope they end up looking fantastic. Otherwise, I'll return the tweed ones and find something more blue for the dark outside curtains.

On another note, I've been looking at fabric for my kitchen drapes. I want them to be different than the living/dining room, I even have a cute valance flippy style in mind, but these are some fabric ideas. What do you think?

And my sister JUST sent me a link to the blog 6th Street Design School where Kirsten is highlighting this bedroom. Great colors! Although I'm thinking for my living space rather than bedroom.

Okay, okay, okay ON TO THE FOOD.

I love this recipe. It is the Curry Chicken I go to every time. However, this last time I made it, I actually added the optional toppings and it made it heavenly. Serious party in my mouth. Even if it's weird, you have to try it.

Indian food in the middle of the week is fantastic.

Curry Chicken

(recipe from cooks.com - although a lot of recipes there might not be tasty...this is an exception)

2 lbs cooked chicken, boneless skinless (I cook the chicken right before, but you could make this ahead of time to. Spice the chicken to taste.)

6 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 lg onion, finely chopped

2 1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1 1/4 tsp ginger root, scraped (Optional, but I recommend it - you could also substitute about 1/4 tsp ground ginger, but fresh is always going to taste better. I usually put more in than this because I love the flavor it gives)

4 tsp curry powder

1 Tbsp water

2 cans petite diced tomatoes

6 oz plain yogurt (I've also used a 6 oz plain greek yogurt)

2 1/2 tsp salt, or more/less to taste

1 tsp garam masala (you can find this in most spice isles)

2 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Optional (but highly recommended) toppings: Sliced Banana, Chutney, Sliced fresh Tomatoes, Coconut

Fry onions in oil for about 4 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and fry until onions are soft and translucent. Reduce heat to low. Add curry and 1 Tbsp water. Fry for 4 minutes stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes, yogurt, and 1 tsp salt. Increase heat to medium. Add chicken and remainder of salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until all chicken is evenly coated. Sprinkle with garam masala. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add lemon juice just before serving. Serve over hot rice with toppings.

*You could use 1/2 to 1 lb fresh tomatoes, I usually just opt for the canned ones because of ease.

When you're tired of PB & J

2011-03-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Trying to come up with a different lunch menu to keep small children interested is often a challenge. They get tired of eating the same food (at least mine do) just like I do!

This past week, this is what lunch looked like around here. We were all pretty happy. Sprinkles would have topped them off if we had them...because what isn't better with sprinkles? Don't worry, I got some at the store and they are sitting right where they belong, next to the syrup.

Asian Chicken Peanut Lettuce Wraps

2011-03-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

Compliments to Abby Thatcher from A Feathered Nest for this one! Holy cow it's a keeper. It has perfect zip and incredible flavor, good on lettuce and rice, and good enough to double just for leftovers.

Actually, I wish I had one to eat right now.

I made this for Valentine's Day (it was in my to-make category forever) and it was a perfect hit. And while you're making it, check out Abby's blog because she's super cute and has a great voice to go with her craftiness.

Here is her recipe:
ASIAN CHICKEN PEANUT LETTUCE WRAPS
(If you're feeding more than 4 adults, you might want to double the recipe)

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 large carrot
8 whole mushrooms
3 green onions
1 red bell pepper
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 T. oil
1 -2 tsp. sesame seed oil (no substitutions!)
1 head butter lettuce, leaves washed and separated
cooked rice

For sauce: (I got all of this stuff at Wal-Mart, girls - not hard)
1/2 bottle Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce
1/3 c. Asian Toasted Sesame dressing
3-4 dashes soy sauce
1 tsp. dried ginger (or 1/4 tsp. fresh minced ginger)
1 T. rice vinegar
handful of (shelled) sunflower seeds (optional)

Bring chicken breasts to a boil in water with a pinch of salt; cover. Boil for 10 minutes; remove from water and chop finely into pieces about the size of peas.

Meanwhile, finely dice the onion, mushroom, and bell pepper to the same size as the chicken pieces. (My kids DON'T eat mushrooms and they had NO idea this dish had any mushrooms at all!)

Finely grate the carrot; set aside in a separate bowl.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add onions, mushrooms, pepper. Cook 2 minutes to soften. Add chicken and minced garlic. Saute for a couple more minutes. Then add all of the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until liquid is reduced and there is almost no liquid left in the pan and the chicken is cooked through. Stir in grated carrot and if you like nuts, I sprinkled sunflower seeds in mine and it was SO good!

**Note: If your mixture is missing something or doesn't taste quite right, you can always add one of two things: a little bit of butter helps neutralize foods, or a small pinch of brown sugar helps neutralize some of the sour ingredients in this recipe.

Serve with a plate of lettuce leaves and your cooked rice - or get creative and cook up some Asian noodles. I used green-leaf lettuce and they weren't strong enough - you'd have to double up on those or use a firmer lettuce leaf.

Do The Dishes

2011-02-24T22:33:00.000-08:00

I have been so excited to do this since I got this towel last summer. Now I have the perfect place to hang my semi-hand-made art.

Kathie (Hi to Hawaii!) and I went browsing at Anthropology and I found these awesome dish towels and could not resist, especially since they were on sale. "Spend money to save money" right??

I already had the frame from a hand-me-down picture that I didn't like. Problem solved. Swap picture for freshly ironed towel, add some windex, and wa-lah. Wall art. This faces the kitchen, constantly reminding me how I love a clean kitchen.

I love the vintage dishes that make up the letters!

The LONG Awaited "Tea-And-Crumpets Apron"

2011-02-16T15:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know it's a copy-cat to this amazing apron from Anthropology, but I promise I made it!

I was browsing through their aprons (which I highly encourage) and saw this and HAD to have it. But I could do it for less than $32 they were asking. I loved the white and mustard combo, so I did copy that as well. Yellow makes things so peppy and yet the mustard-ness of this yellow tones it to just the right shade.

Let's just say that I did lots and lots and lots of pinning on this one. And the tie on it - well, it's one continuous beast that took forever to turn! Honestly I don't think I've ever been more proud of an apron as this one. I took the time, did the little tricks, and yelled at my machine when the tension would randomly be dumb. In the name of love, of coarse.

Here it is. I'm not making another one, so this one is mine. I love it too much to part with. But don't be surprised if you see those cute ruffles on more things. Now go make yourself one, too!

Ties are long enough to tie in front or in back.

I can't get enough of these ruffles! I love them.

And why NOT have a ruffle hem to finish it off?

(Special thanks to a friend who modeled for me! I've been waiting to capture somebody for this very purpose.)

Linked to:

Sending you Valentine's Love

2011-02-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

I love pink things.

I love conversation hearts.

I love home-made Almond Joys.

I love free printables.

And I kinda *wink* love this guy.

I hope you have things to love, too.

A Housing Side-note

2011-02-01T22:17:00.000-08:00

I now own my very first home. I just walked in from a baby shower and my husband is asleep on the couch...in our own house. For some reason this makes it feel like home already. I know that sounds funny, but it's true. Does your husband fall asleep with his work laptop in front of him, too?

So we moved in this past Thursday, thanks to some muscly men (of course my man was the strongest) and my parents help. I have a cute picture of us on our front porch that my mom took, I'll have to add it to this post later. I just wanted to let the world know that I now have a billion projects to do...there is never a last house project. But I think that's why it is so much fun.

I am loving so many things and I'm sure I'll have lots of before/after shots for you. One thing to look forward too is a new apron I made!! I actually finished it 2 days before I moved, but I need a non-pregnant person to model for me...watch out neighbors, I'm going to knock on your door. And seriously I love this apron. I really feel like it just be my most well made and cutest one so far.

So dun...dun...duuuuuu. Look for an apron post next. :) Happy night.

FOUR of your FAVORITE recipes

2011-01-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

Prepare for some new food! Since moving to Portland, I have found a fun and crafty friend. She pretty much rocks. Here's Lisa's blog tom & lisa + 2 that you need to go check out. She loves to find some random looking furniture, make it gorgeous, and then sell it. I have several projects ready to pay her to do. :)

Not only is she crafty, but she's fun to talk to and poses thoughtful life questions. Her search for balance in motherhood is one understood by all us SAHM (stay at home moms). Between her projects she has a good voice and witty personality.

Here are a few of my favorites:

A recent make-over that I would love as a bedside table.

Adorable earring combos...she's really good at that.

And a headboard to die for! I want my little girl to have a room with this shade of pink and then maybe some accents with green and brown.

SO the real reason for this post is her amazing food! I've been really tired of everything on our "usual" list, so in the past month we probably haven't eaten the same thing twice...except these recipes.

Just a little side-note...each of these deserve their own post, because they are that good, but I don't want to deprive you that long. So here you go. You're welcome. Thanks, Lisa.

Taco Cones

(AKA Taco Ice Cream Cones)

4-5 big tomatoes, chopped
1 can olives, drained and chopped
2 avocados, chopped
2 cans kidney beans
1 bundle of green onions, chopped
Couple handfuls of grated cheddar cheese

1 pt. sour cream
16 oz. medium salsa
1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
Dash of garlic salt
About 2/3 bag of corn chips, smashed

Burrito-size flour tortillas

Mix all ingredients together. Cut tortillas in half, then roll to make a cone. Fill with mixture.

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

(do not be afraid that there is lettuce AND pasta together in this salad)

3 cups (about 12 oz) shredded cooked chicken breast / or grilled (may use less)
3 cups cooked penne pasta (about 6 oz. uncooked)

2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce

1 ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes

½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil

½ cup chopped green onions

1/3 cup Caesar dressing (or to taste)

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 (4-oz.) pkg. crumbled feta cheese

1 garlic clove, minced

Sea salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, toss well. Best when chilled 10-15 minutes before serving.

Tortellini and Bean Soup

Light, yet perfectly filling with the tortellini

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 med onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
8 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
3 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
Black pepper, to taste
12 oz fresh or frozen cheese tortellini

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and drained tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, oregano, basil, black beans, vinegar, and black pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Finally, add the tortellini to the soup and cook for 5-8 minutes or until tender. Serves 8.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

HOLY COW this is good! I made this last night and really really really want to make it again for tonight.

28 oz chicken broth
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
4-6 oz diced green chilies (when doubling, add 3 cans)
1 15 oz can corn, drained
1 10.75 oz can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 tsp ground cumin (or more if you love it)
2-3 tsp lime juice

Toppings:
Chopped tomatoes
Shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped green onions
Sliced olives
Diced avocados
Sour Cream
Fresh chopped cilantro

Bring the soup ingredients to a boil, adding the chicken last. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and let everyone choose their toppings. Double this for company or for yourself (it keeps well in the fridge). This one never fails.

My Shirt to Her Dress

2011-01-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

I have a pile of clothes that I didn't really like how they fit, and now that I'm pregnant, feel totally fine parting with. However, as I looked over the pile the other night, I realized there where several things that I could fix for my little girl.

Thanks to my friend Kathie for this shirt, I now have a little dress. I love that it already had a band around the waist and now fits perfect as a hip band on a dress.

Here's how the shirt began. I hemmed up the sleeves/shoulders, took in the sides from the armpits down to the hip band (leaving the bottom un-hemmed for some flair), and took off the collar. It really was simple adjustments to make this work for my girly. I totally think you should try it.

(ps i hemmed the right sleeve top on this already...and then remembered that i wanted to take a picture first )

Petals you CAN'T live without: The Fabric Daisy

2011-01-13T22:26:00.000-08:00

I have been having lots of fun the past couple of days planning out some new flowers! This is what I have to show.

Looking at this picture of a daisy from this site, I think it fits perfect with these fantastic flowers.

So although my kids have been running high temps, runny noses, and coughs galore, I've squeezed in some crafting. They are too cute to pass up, so now it's your turn.

How do you make these? (follow the link below)

#1 - I found a tutorial at crochet & sweet, simply things from Dawn.
STOP - okay, read her tutorial up to sewing the bottom flower petals together
BUT - instead of using time ironing a middle line...fold the circle in half and crease, then just cut with scissors...way less time consuming and just as good

#2 - So we pick up the tutorial from here. The bottom flower petals are all sewn together, but leave the long thread uncut! Just attach the last petal to the first.

#3 - Leaving the thread uncut makes it easy to keep sewing more petals for the SECOND layer of the flower.

(Here the last petal is going on)

#4 - Anchor the last petal to the first (for the top layer), just as you did for the bottom petals. Still do not cut the thread.

#5 - Your layers will now be attached by a thread and be able to come apart...we have to fix that.

#6 - Since the thread is still attached, sew your layers together. Make sure no raw edges are loose in the middle section of your flower. You want it holding strong.

#7 - As for the back, Dawn used fabric glue, I just used hot glue. Cut some felt to just cover the raw middle circle, hot glue, attach a pin and a clip. (Wearing options: sweater, shirt, bag, necklace, etc)

#8 - THE BUTTON COVERED CENTERS - Dawn sewed hers on, but I just hot glued. Being careful to not drip any on my petals.

And since I'm really excited for my flowers, I thought I'd give you the chance to see them up close. I hope you enjoy yours!!

P.S. If you want to see where I've made some of these before, check out my Reception Aprons.

Linked to:

I'm off to get clips! Yea for Shoe Sugar!

2011-01-11T10:54:00.000-08:00

This is what I've been wanting to do forever! I'm glad I'm not the only one so now I can have more ideas.

Kathleen Frances has a fantastic blog called Grosgrain that you must see. This month she is doing Shoe Sugar (as she has called it). So I'm off to pick up some secure clips to make my own. I'm sure the hair clips might work, but they could also fall off easily because they lack some teeth. So depending on your shoe, if you want it to have little teeth marks or not, choose your clip.

I can't link her pictures, but here's some of the buttons with her shoe clips. I can see this as a 2011 fad...in addition to ruffles, white kitchens, subway art, and t-shirt up-cycling, can't you??

As for my own projects, I'm working on some flower love and a long over-due apron. PS Have I told you I love fabric covered buttons?

Loving Scarfs!

2011-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

I found some awesome patterns from Megan's Brassy Apple that I will be purchasing soon...because they are irresistible. Seriously, I know you want to get them, too!

In addition, I found the Pleated Knit Scarf from Ashley's Make it and Love it and knew I just need to whip one up with some left-over knit.

Pleated Knit Scarf...My Belly...My Toes

I had made an Infinity Scarf from this fabric previously, but still loved it. Follow Ashley's tutorial for the know-how.

As for my measurements, I had 40"x35" fabric.

I cut five 40" pieces.

Cut one one of those in half.

Sew together 2 long and one half.

Lay wrong sides together on the floor.

...Then follow her instructions for method.

Laid out ready to pin

Pinned and ready to sew

Finished Scarf that I love

Crush on my Prego Skinny Jeans...(sshh - that I made!)

2011-01-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

So now I live in Oregon. No big surprise, except to my feet.

I think I was California from birth. I've always preferred sandals, slip-ons, and open toes to anything. Now I live in a rainy state that makes all my cloth flats wet and cold (and non-sock friendly). And what else do I have to wear? Heel boots. No. Running shoes. They might be practical, but not cute. No. And I do not have rain boots.

My solution was to buy this great pair of flat brown boots from Target, that were $10 off, and pair them with some skinny jeans. Fashionable and practical.

Only problem, no skinny maternity jeans.

This pregnancy I've had to purchase some new pants, mostly from a great consignment store "Back on the Rack" that's just down the street. So I have my old slightly larger maternity pants from before.

I took matters into my own hands.

I've made my own skinny jeans before. You can check out this post if you want to see. I followed the same idea, except I didn't previously have skinny prego jeans to copy. See below for method.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN "ORANGE ON A TOOTHPICK" AKA Prego Skinny Jeans:

My solution (to aid you in your own alterations), was to put on my jeans inside-out.

Just working on one side, I pinched the material on the outside of my jeans where it met my leg and I pinned it.

I did this the entire length of my leg.

Then I took off my jeans. Using a permanent marker I drew a line on my pants following the pins. (Then I could remove some pins and make sure I had my jeans flat).

Then I sewed the line. You might not want to cut off excess fabric until a final fitting.

Try on pants to check fit.

To match the other leg (having the pants inside out again), I folded the finished leg on top of the unfinished and using my permanent marker, drew a line directly under my seam. Just lift the flap of extra fabric from the finished leg back a bit to match everything up.

Sew. Turn right side out. Check for fit.

Turn wrong side out (again), cut off excess fabric. Do not cut the elastic band on the top, just leave that tucked.

Enjoy your prego skinny jeans! :)

(Sorry I was lacking pictures. I expect to make more...so I'll be better next time.)

Boy Project: Puppy Dog Clothes

2011-01-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

This was a fun and simple upcycle morning project: superhero shirt and cape for beloved Puppy Dog.

With BOYS in mind, check out Dana's "Celebrate the Boy" in February at MADE. She rocks.

I had cut off some superhero pj's the kids had gotten for Daddy, so they were perfect for this project.

I used the bottom hem of the pants for the bottom of the shirt, sewed a line up for the shirt sides and across for the bottom arm holes. Then I sewed a top line for the top arm seam. I left the shirt sleeves and neck hole with a raw edge *gotta love knit. Then he called for a cape. I just cut a piece with ties attached = no sewing.

And well received! This picture makes me smile. I will be sad when Puppy Dog is on the shelf. (and no, he didn't come with a button nose...he's had a nose job because of some intense love)

Speaking of toys on shelves, has anyone seen Toy Story 3 and about cried at the end? Well done (again) and sad to see a goodbye to toys and little boys.

And then there was a baby that decided she needed a cape, too. Just to fit in. :)

Weekend Find and Weekend Food

2011-01-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

When we lived in California, our family on-campus housing was known for its dumpster diving. I'm just here to announce that we still have that blood in us. Some of you might find it a little unnerving, but there are some good things that people leave for, well...me to find.

We've had a good hand-me-down table for a while now. It was light colored, food encrusted on the bottom (disgusting), stamp and marker stained, and had sticky legs from packing tape. It had lots of love in it.

I took the garbage out and found this. An Ikea table, basically perfect condition, and had my name written all over it. We traded tables. That's the true dumpster diving way. At our old complex this table wouldn't have lasted even 2 minutes before it was snatched, so we're pretty happy with our find.

Yea us!

Okay, on to food. Even though I haven't been sewing as much recently, I have been eating. My weekly budgeting (the best system ever) always stays on track when I have a menu for the week. This past week I filled our days with new recipes I had tagged from allrecipes. So so good!

Baked Potato Soup

Perfect for a cold day. The real bacon crumbles made the perfect compliment. I didn't have any baked potatoes on hand, so I diced and boiled some raw ones instead. Definitely a keeper - might even replace my Leek Soup recipe.

Stuffed (or rather un-stuffed) Green Peppers

I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while now. This was the weekend. However, when I went to make it, I had half the time needed to make it. It requires 20 min cook time for the rice and 20 for after you stuff the peppers.

I cut that in half. While I was cooking the rice mixture, I thickly sliced the green peppers, salted them, and broiled them on low until they were nice and tender.

I served the rice/meat mixture over the peppers, grated cheese on top, and drizzled slightly saucy heated tomato soup on top.

Awesome. I will also do this again. I hope you try it.

And one more thing, introducing my drool of the moment: The 2011 Ford Flex. So with a 3rd on the way, we'll have to get a bigger car. Our Saturn Vue will fit three boosters/car seats, but elbow to elbow children does not pose a peaceful car journey.

Not that this is what we'll get, but it's a very pretty option, don't you think?

Yea, I'm back!!

2010-12-30T20:55:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to be writing today! I have thought of you all often and am excited to get things going again. Thanks for sticking with me through the beginning of pregnancy...and then the busy Thanksgiving/Christmas season.

So let's see, the other important thing to note is that I'm having a BOY. We are very excited, especially my 4-year-old buddy. So be on the look-out for future baby boy projects.

this is me excited to see you...I know I'm dorky :)

And with you all in mind, I have several things to show you. I promise I've actually done things in the past months besides grow out of my pants.

Sweet & Salty Treats

I love these little morsels because they literally *jump* into my mouth and then I realize I just ate 10. They are that good. I made a bunch and set off on a delivery journey with holiday treat bags. I just wish I could have made more. For those that got one, I'm glad to share; for those that didn't, I didn't do it on purpose. Make them following THIS recipe from allrecipes.

The fun part of this treat is you can make them lots of different ways. #1 - change the shape of the pretzel: round, square, or twisty. #2 - change the chocolate: kisses, hugs, carmel kisses, rolos (just note that they are different cooking times). And #3 - change your topper: walnut, pecan, m&m, etc. It's going to be an easy crowd pleaser.

Christmas Napkin Holders

We had Secret Christmas Carolers this holiday season and each night they would leave us something on our doorstep. One night it was these clever napkin holders. They really would be so easy to make. Just in case you needed some inspiration (I know, I know, Christmas is past)...but this could be copied to an arrow shape for Valentine's Day or a Shamrock with a long stem for St. Patrick's Day. Really people, the possibilities are endless.

Curry & Naan...mmmmmmmmm

This is my favorite chicken curry recipe. I also made some naan from THIS recipe that is delicious. The sauce is the same the Tamarind Sauce from this past post.

So I feel like I need to justify myself by saying this, but this curry recipe is actually from cooks.com. I really don't like that cooking site. I think there is no advice and a general lack of responsibility of people posting recipes. I'm sure there's good stuff on there, but after several bad recipes, I moved on. This is probably the only recipe from this site that I use as the automatic go-to...and it's very worth it. So here's the link to the recipe.

For my own notes to the recipe:

I do not use whole chickens, but maybe at least 4 chicken breasts.

Fresh ginger really adds amazing flavor.

I use at least 2 cans petite dices tomatoes instead of fresh.

The yogurt really adds a good texture and creaminess. I've even used greek yogurt in place of plain.

I hope you try it and drool the whole time. :)

Table Napkins

As for my sewing machine, well it's seen more dust than light recently and I'm so excited to change that! I did pull it out right before Christmas to make my mom and sis-in-law each a set of fun table napkins. As I was going through my fabric stash I got super excited to make several of my own sets.

The easy instructions:

Buy corresponding fabric in fat quarters (or cut 18" x 21" pieces)

Hem all the edges

That's it. So easy and so cute! I like the matching/non-matching of these. I want some like this for me and some matching too. We move into our new house (almost done being built) in a month and we have a new table and chairs waiting for us. It will need some good linens to go with it. I'll have to make some chic table runners as well.

Amazing Buns!

2010-10-26T23:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not talking about exercise here! Although my walk tonight did my buns some good.

I know I've been MIA and I can't promise I'll be here tomorrow, but know that I want to be. I'm so happy you're all still here! I start the day feeling sick, start to feel better enough to do dishes, laundry, and think about bathrooms, but then the kids want me to play, and then I muster the rest of the energy for the day into dinner, and by then I'm to tired and ill feeling for anything else. I'm just over 12 weeks, so I'm crossing my fingers that somewhere in the next week I'll wake up and feel perfectly healthy and have my stomach back to normal.

So I got into a bread making mood today and couldn't resist trying out a new recipe. Bread is my downfall, I'm sure I'm not alone. :) Some friends had us over for dinner and served these rolls and today I called her for the recipe. She gave me the link to her Mom's food blog Creme Sue-ley and I busted out the kitchen aid and made the herfen 48 roll batch. We're in heaven here at my house...and it smells so good!

Browsing through Creme Sue-ley, there are some yummy recipes that I'm excited to try out. You'll have to take a peek. In the mean time...here's some eye candy:

P.S. I had high hopes of eating some Leek Soup with my rolls tonight, but maybe tomorrow we will end up enjoying them together! It was a delicious hot dog night at our house! What did you have for dinner? (Really, I need some ideas!)

My real excuse

2010-10-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

Not that I deserve an excuse for lacking in the creative department, but I do have something that qualifies. I have #3 in the oven! We're excited over here, but also battling nausea, tiredness, and constantly trying to find something that sounds good to eat. My success for the past almost 2 weeks has been getting a decent dinner on the table, at least every other day. I am about 10 weeks along and my sickness in the past has ended about 13 weeks, so there is an end it sight. Well...there better be!

So my attempt for the next little while, until I find some creative adrenaline, is to give you some recipes I've been making and showing you some fun Halloween things. When I wake up and realize I feel normal again, then we'll be on a roll!

I don't want to promise anything, but I really want to do a Halloween apron giveaway for my awesome readers who have stuck through my slacking!

For the meantime, enjoy the beautiful fall season!

I love pasta salad

2010-09-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

I needed something fresh the other night. So after stopping by Trader Joe's to pick up some good bread (and letting the kids find Moto Monkey and get a sucker) we made our way home to cook up some pasta.

I think I like this salad so much because you can add whatever you want to it. I think it's fun to add zucchini to things that my husband realizes he enjoys (if you ask him, he says he doesn't like it...but when I hide it he eats it without noticing). Wa ha ha haaaa... Okay, so for my ingredients.

Pasta Salad

Rotini Pasta, cooked according to package directions, rinsed in cold water
Italian dressing
Pepperoni, quartered
Ham, small chunks
Cheddar cheese, small chunks
Frozen peas
Red pepper, diced
Broccoli, cut in small pieces
Cauliflower, cut in small pieces
Can of white corn, drained
Zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced

Mix all together and pour at least 1/2 the bottle of dressing over the mixture or more to desired wetness and taste. Enjoy!

Pink Ruffles

2010-09-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

I put this one together a couple of days ago, but finally pinned down my husband to take a picture. I'm missing some close neighbors to use as models. (Anyone interested?)

The girly-ness of this apron is very apparent and I love it. It really can't get much frillier!

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Satin Flower Headband

2010-09-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

I love these flowers! You can see how to make them using this tutorial for ribbon flowers. In our church group I am with the teenage girls and this week was dedicated to flower making. I was very excited to help them learn how to make felt flowers and the ribbon flowers. I completely forgot my camera at the activity, otherwise I would show off their creations as well. They did an awesome job!

I made this flower and then simply hot-glued it onto a little headband. Wallah! I really like it, especially with the contrasting headband color to flower color. You can buy a 5-pack of headbands for a couple dollars and then glue all kinds of flowers onto them. Have fun!

HeLa Book Review and Homemade Oreo Cookies

2010-09-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

So today I'm giving you a book and cookies to munch on while reading! I'm positive you'll enjoy both.

So for the book. "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" is so well written! The author, Rebecca Skloot, is an award winning science writer. The book talks about HeLa cells that are all over the whole world in different scientific labs.

I had no idea what they were before reading this. Basically, all of our cells cannot survive forever (I mean forever) if grown outside of our body. But Henrietta's cells, taken from her cancerous growth in the 1950's, did keep growing. That was an era where doctors didn't have to ask to use patients or their tissues, etc for research. The book chronicles the life of Henrietta, the doctors, her family, the science field, and the HeLa cells. Rebecca Skloot makes the story chronological and finally gives Henrietta the recognition that she deserves. Rebecca was able to write this book because of her long relationship developed with Henrietta's daughter, Deborah. It is respectful, it is hard, it is enlightening, and it is incredible what the science field has done.

Deborah and family were most concerned that they never saw any money from their mother's cells. Mostly, Deborah wanted the future generations to get an education. Rebecca Skloot has established a scholarship fund for the descendants of Henrietta Lacks.

I thought is was amazing to see a list of things that HeLa cells have aided in development. For your own enjoyment, here's a short list:
Polio Vaccine
Cell's reaction in Space
Hybrid Research with plants
Cloning research
Human Gene Mapping leading to down syndrome and klinefelter syndrome, etc discoveries
Successful Transportation of cells
The way Herpes, Measles, Mumps, Fowl Pox, Equine Encephalitis viruses attack cells
How to freeze cells without harming or changing them
Radiation/Nuclear Bomb study
Study of Pressure's influence on cells
Steriods
Chemotherapy drugs
Hormones
Vitamins
Environmental stress
Tuberculosis
Salmonella
Other Bacteria
Hemorrhagic Fever
And the list goes on...

So again, I recommend this book. I really couldn't put it down. It doesn't have intense science language or is hard to understand, it's written for everyone. I think it's an important read because the content relates to us now; the scientific world as we know it is largely due to Henrietta.

You'll have to let me know what you think. Enjoy.

And for some cookies! I remember my mom making these for an elementary school bike ride with our class. The class rode by my house where my mom served them out for everyone. Sweet and delicious and you better have some milk close by.

Homemade Oreo Cookies
from Mama Melanie

COOKIES:
2 boxes Devil's Food Cake
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup Crisco

FROSTING:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cookie ingredients together until blended. Roll into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 9 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet and then transfer to rack.

Mix frosting ingredients together and beat until well combined and smooth. I find that beating for at about 5 minutes makes a better frosting - letting the powdered sugar really combine with the other ingredients. Once cookies are completely cool, spread frosting on the bottom of one and sandwich the bottom of another (same size cookie) on top.

Enjoy with a glass of milk!

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Open

2010-09-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

It's for real. I have the first thing listed in my etsy store. For those who have done this, please send me any tips that you can think of! I am feeling very new to this. I had planned on more to be up, but the last 2 days my machine is being mean. Right now I'm ready to throw in the towel and get a new one, but we'll see.

As soon as I get my machine going, I have some quilts from the past to show you. One of them is a home-made batik quilt from high school and a family quilt with picture transfers on it. It's kind-of fun to revisit projects that took a lot of time and love to create, even if it was from a while ago.

Little Girl Ruffle Apron

2010-09-16T00:22:00.000-07:00

I love these ruffle aprons! Seriously, can it get much cuter!! Recently you can see this one I made for my friend in an orange theme. In that post, there is a link to other past ruffle aprons, if you're interested.

I couldn't resist this adorable ladybug fabric. And what better than to make a sweet little girl's apron. It really would be cute as a skirt, but I'm sticking to aprons for now. I wrapped the long strings around back, front, and then tied in back. I like the look of the contrasting ties to the front of the apron.

Just FYI - this will be available in my future etsy shop. Any color request to personalize the order is welcomed. Won't this be fun!? I think so.

Would you buy this? (I really want to know). And if not, what could I do differently? Thanks for the feedback.

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A Little View of the Day

2010-09-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today has been an apron day! I have 9 aprons in the works by the end of tonight and here's a few pictures to wet your appetite. I have some more ironing to do to prepare for sewing tomorrow. I did a lot of cutting and planning today. Here's to a happy Tuesday night!

Selling News!

2010-09-13T22:41:00.000-07:00

This is an exciting post to give you! I'm doing it, I'm making my own Etsy shop. It will be up and running on Friday. It will be simple at first, but I'm excited to see where it goes. Look forward to the weekend!

(image from Etsy.com)

Happy Birthday Self!

2010-09-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been MIA. I have good reasons...although they really sound just like excuses.

1) My little buddy started preschool this past week. We got the picture on the front porch with the sign saying "Preschool 2010." So cute. I dropped him off and felt the crying emotion building, but I held it in. He was going to be okay...and he was. I left him at school where he knew no one and he came away with a new friend. This is going to be great! So we're getting used to a new schedule around here. Tomorrow marks another day of preschool and little girl starting dancing school. She is SO excited for ballet. 2-year-olds in leotards cannot get much cuter. I'm looking forward to taking pictures.

2) My parents were in town last weekend and my sister was in town this weekend. The later was a surprise. My bday was yesterday and she decided to come in and join me for the celebration. I turned 27 - the age I remember my mom turning, the age she's stuck at in my head. Does your mom have an age in your head, too?

P.S. I had a blast, Nan! I'm so glad we garage-saled for my bday and we found those halloween costumes for the kids ($5)...and $1 scrapbook paper for you!

3) I'm finally really excited for our house. When we made the offer and then we had it, we gave them money, and looked at each other...aaahh! Wow. We're going to be settled. I'm very excited. We are always talking about it now.

4) Honestly I've been hooked to the summer show finales that have been happening. ie. Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, and my new favorite Covert Affairs. Being a lazy bum in the evening seemed easier than sewing...no excuses! How about you guys, any favorite shows out there?

And I guess that's it. To make up for it, here's some exciting things:

I got a new camera! I am so in love right now. No, I haven't kissed it, but I check on it every so often, just to make sure it's safe and feels loved. It is a Sony NEX-3. It has the body of a point-and-shoot but the lens of a DSLR. So I get crisp pictures with a small body. There are a billion settings on it too, so I'm having fun reading the manual. Like I already didn't take enough pictures. Thank you everyone for birthday money!

I love how this camera shoots food. Clean pictures. My sis and I braved an Indian Restaurant Channai Masala and it was excellent. It is really authentic Indian, so if you're in the mood for it, I would definitely recommend the lunch buffet.

Look how cute she is with her new short haircut...just about to down some good food.

When I got home, I found my hubs and kids had made me theses special birthday brownies. There was even a gummy worm baked inside the brownies as a surprise (I never found it...I think it gooed into the brownie mix). I don't really know how many candles are on this, but I do know they started the paper on fire.

I had already put out the candles on the left side because they had fallen on the paper and had their own little barbie bonfire going on. The kids were kinda freaked out by the large bday cake flames. We quickly sang happy birthday and put them out. I didn't even get all the candles lit because of the fire hazard. We'll pretend.

Then we decided to go swimming while my husband sulked watching the BYU football game. Not a winner of a day for the team. I, however, was still just really excited about my new camera. This is my "I'm so happy about this new camera that I'm going to take a picture of myself on the way to the pool" face. I should probably stop doing that. Have I mentioned I love my camera.

And then my sister flew home today. Her hubs was feeling lonely without her. She is gorgeous and I told her I wanted her shirt: Plato's closet - $4. Steal.

So as a treat for making it to the end of this massive email that was really self-centered, I have a treat for you. I make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies this morning. They are t o d i e f o r. Have you tasted Great Harvest Pumpkin Bread? Well this is the same, but cookie form. Here's a recipe to bring in the fall and pumpkin season.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from Teri (amazing and thoughtful friend)

3 cups pumpkin
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
5 1/2 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips (1 bag)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together in kitchen aid or with hand mixer. Once combined, scoop with spoons (it will be a sticky batter) onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes (this morning I baked mine for 13.5 minutes). Scarf down.

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1950's Better Homes Magazine to Wall Art

2010-09-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to find this magazine in a "junk and stuff store" that we drove by on the way to Cannon Beach this last weekend. I will be returning to that one again. It is packed with lots of good stuff. I paid 70 cents for this puppy and I'm excited about my new wall art. There is lots more in there with good potential!

(one background looks grayer than the other...that is not the case, just lighting)

This is what I started with. The magazine is so funny! It says things like, "Linoleum laughs at muddy feet," you can completely furnish a living room with "$625.73," and "music in the dining room-why not?" It's a fun read-through.

For some up-close pictures of the graphics in these frames:

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A House Buying Week

2010-09-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

It has been quite the last week! But the big news is that my husband and I are buying a house! It is a new home and the closing date is December 31st.

The fun part about this is that we get to choose the different flooring, countertops, fixtures, colors, etc inside the house. I've been super giddy about everything. It a nice sized home of 2500 sq ft, so it's a home we'll be in for quite a while. I'm planning on setting everything up like we'll live there forever, but then I'll be okay if we decide to move somewhere else in 10ish years.

I just can't wait to see it all put together!

Anyway, I had no idea all the billions of people that you have to talk to and arrange things. Agents, loans, insurance, flooring people, and design center. This list might seem short, but there are so many decisions for each of these things. Deciding to buy a house is HUGE. We really are going to be settled. I am excited for this new adventure.

For now, you have me back. My brain is now clear since everything is figured out now. I have some fun things in mind for this week. :)

All Holiday Sugar Cookies

2010-08-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

Looking at these cookies you wouldn't be able to tell what holiday we were celebrating. That's what happens when you make sugar cookies in August! This is my mom's recipe and they are amazing. This is a fluffy cakey cookie that loves frosting. I love sugar cookies that have some thickness to them.

Sugar Cookies

1 cup margarine
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk*
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Beat margarine, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until smooth. Gradually add the buttermilk*. Add dry ingredients. Mix. This is a sticky dough when warm, so don't be alarmed if it's not your typical chocolate chip cookie dough. You could add another 1/2 cup flour if you want.

Place dough in fridge for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out on well-floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. If you don't use enough flour, there is no getting it off the counter in a recognizable shape - just too sticky. The dough won't be workable it if gets warm, so keep the extra dough in the fridge when not in use.

Place cut out dough onto greased pan and bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should not look brown or golden at all. Carefully transfer to cooling rack.

*Buttermilk can be substituted: 3/4 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes before use

"Go Team" Cafe Apron

2010-08-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

The whole time we lived in California we were close to my husband's parents. Luckily, there was a cool uncle for the kids to play with still living at home. My brother-in-law is now beginning his freshman year at BYU! Congrats! And in honor of his moving forward, I made something special.

There's actually 3 parts to the gift.

1) In the past year, after lots of tests, they realized he is lactose intolerant big time. Even if something is cooked that had a milk product in it, his stomach (not intestines) will kill him for the next 3 days. SO I put together a milk-less cookbook for him of easy meals for a freshman...and maybe a couple of easy ones with extra ingredients to impress the ladies.

2) All college kids are starving students, so I will be sending a box of some fun food items with the cookbook. And probably a couple of ingredients/spices for the recipes.

3) AND this is an apron blog right? It's high time I made another apron to post. So here you are. I wanted to make a team apron for the upcoming football season anyway, so this was perfect timing. It's not perfect, but I think it's pretty cool - and manly enough for him to wear. (Although my husband thinks all aprons are girly no matter what material they're made from). I think I need to make one for myself now. A cafe apron is great for team sports anyway because when you're serving nachos or buffalo wings you don't really need a full apron anyway. Go make yourself one!

I used skinny ribbon for the ties. So much easier and less time consuming than flipping ties right-side out.

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Crustless Quiche

2010-08-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

I have never been the biggest fan of quiche, but I've now had two kinds recently that I love. One of them is from the brunch with friends, but I still don't have that recipe. The other is Chrissie's crustless quiche that I'm going to divulge to you today. Chrissie is one of those people that is always put together, has a beautiful home, and is gracious to everyone. You're missing out not knowing her. Before we moved we had dinner at their home and this is what she made for us. I called her a couple days ago to get the recipe and wa-lah, here we are today.

Be prepared for some very happy tastebuds!

Crustless Quiche

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups bisquick
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1/4 cup melted butter
Filling options:
1 cup grated cheese (cheddar and/or other)
diced ham
bacon bits
sausage without casing
spinach
sliced mushrooms
sliced green onion
diced tomatoes
diced peppers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat all ingredients, except filling options, with a mixer until smooth. Pour into an ungreased deep pie dish or other round pan of choice. Evenly distribute your filling options of choice over the top of the bisquick mixture. They will sink into the dish. Top with the cheese last and press down lightly with a fork so the bisquick mixture is covering everything. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden.

Welcome to the new quiche!

My quiche with diced red peppers, diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, provolone sun dried tomato sausage (from Costco), and cheddar cheese.

Pressing the cheese in lightly with a fork.

And the finished result.

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The Time Teller

2010-08-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

Do you have the problem in your house where your little ones ask "what are we doing today," you rattle off a list of items, and they look at you and say, "what!?" Then you back track, repeat maybe just the next thing you're going to do. Then you go to the clock and point where the big and little hands should be when that next activity occurs. This works well, but I think I have come up with an even better solution.

This is the Time Teller.

Instead of them asking you all the time, every morning you can organize it together and they can check it themselves throughout the day.

What you need:

Fabric - cut 16"x48"

Plastic

Coordinating Thread

A clock

Cut your 16"x48" piece and then cut off the top 3". This is to create a dowel sheath. If you want to skip this and just use tacks, that's fine too.

Hem the 2 long sides and 1 short side of the bottom piece. Hem 1 short side of the top piece (I'll explain below).

This is what you should end up with.

The other short side of the top piece needs to be hemmed in so the width of the top and bottom pieces are exact.

I ended up having to hem mine just slightly more than my other side.

Fold your top piece in half length-wise, wrong sides together.

Place it on your bottom piece, raw edges together, and right sides together.

Sew a straight line across it to bind all edges.

This is what you should end up with.

I wanted to hide all raw edges, so I took it a step further. Roll the raw edges under some of the bottom piece.

From the top it should look like this.

And from the side it looks like this.

Sew a line down the edge of the fold to secure it.

The front of your fabric should look like this.

And here's the back view.

Now you need to cut the plastic to fit your bottom part. I laid the plastic on top of my piece and cut. You can cut however works best for you.

I'm cutting...

And now I'm done with that part.

The hard part of this project was that I was expecting to use my machine to sew the pockets. Not so much. The plastic is too sticky and the walking foot won't move. YOU WILL BE HAND SEWING. It will be worth it. :)

I measured in 4" from the left long side and marked it with a fine point sharpie using little dashes on the plastic. Then I hand sewed long stitches to secure. Then I measured 3" apart down the length with my ruler, marking again with small dashes. I love the fine point sharpie! This way you don't have to measure the whole time your sewing. I would recommend a movie while your hand sewing. It will make it seem a little less mundane. Also, pin it in place as you work your way down - plastic and fabric like to slip around together.

Here is mine completely sewn. If you look hard you can see my dashes and stitches.

Make your inserts for the pockets. I used this printable clock template. I copied and pasted it into a word document. Then I resized it to my needs. I printed about 26 and drew the hands on for every hour and half hour, and a couple in between. Print off and draw as many clocks as you want. One thing I'm glad I did was write the time digitally on the bottom corner. It's so much easier to find the time you're looking for to have both on there.

Then make your activity inserts. I did all sorts of activities: the store, park, lunch, book, church, preschool, etc. Do what you need. Then draw a simple picture next to it so your kiddos will know what it is without having to read. You could even have them help draw the pictures.

You're ready to go with the Time Teller. Put your inserts into the pockets. Card stock would probably work best and last longer; I didn't have any on hand and my regular paper is doing good for now. I have reserved the last pocket row for the leftover clocks and activities. That way everything can be stored right with the Time Teller.

I mounted a clock above it, hanging the Time Teller as low as possible. And wa-lah, the kids are happy, I'm happy, and we're learning to tell time. I hope you have fun and ignore some of my cheesy drawings!

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