Here's the "pattern" I was working to. And by pattern I mean, drawing free hand this pumpkin:
And here's the result, with my husband's pumpkin too:
Not too shabby. In any event, they are something to put out tomorrow for the trick or treaters!
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Happy Halloween!
Tonight we decided to finally carve the pumpkins we got at the beginning of the month. Our intention was to do it over the weekend, but hurricane Sandy had other plans. On the plus side they will probably last until tomorrow night now. :) My husband chose to get creative with his design and make his own which I think turned out pretty awesome, especially when lit with a candle. I opted to pick something cool I saw on the internet and try to repeat it.
Here's the "pattern" I was working to. And by pattern I mean, drawing free hand this pumpkin:
And here's the result, with my husband's pumpkin too:
Not too shabby. In any event, they are something to put out tomorrow for the trick or treaters!
Here's the "pattern" I was working to. And by pattern I mean, drawing free hand this pumpkin:
And here's the result, with my husband's pumpkin too:
Not too shabby. In any event, they are something to put out tomorrow for the trick or treaters!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Making Your Own Baby Food
This may seem like an intimidating idea, but trust me, nothing could be easier to make. I wish all my meals could be as simple as the ones for a baby. During a visit to the pediatrician's office we were told some enlightening things about baby food. The first of which is they do not need to start with cereal. Silly uneducated me thought that was what you had to do! She actually suggested avocado as a great first food. The added bonus being you can eat whatever they don't. Fabulous!
We actually did choose to make avocado Colin's first food and it was probably one of the best decisions we made. He actually liked the avocado and, as we later found out, on the mess scale, it's pretty low. He did still manage the get it all over him, but it wasn't nearly as bad as cereal. We decided to make that the second food so in a pinch if we had to, we would know it would be ok to give that to him. I am glad I bought a small box because I can't see going back to that EVER. On the mess scale that was probably oh, about an 11. I think the only way we are going to finish that box is if it gets mixed in with other real food.
After that episode, I decided to go educate myself on what a baby needs and great first foods. Aside from avocados; apples, sweet potatoes, and bananas are great too. My dad sent a big care package of apples from the family orchard in NY, so those were immediately used to make the first batch of food for him. Surprisingly, they were very easy to make. I chose the boil method, where you peel, core, and cut up apples and place in a pot. I added a small amount of water and cooked for about 15 minutes or until they were breaking down to mush. That's when you know they are ready.
For the sweet potatoes, I scrubbed them and stabbed them with a fork. Wrapped them up in tin foil and baked in a 400 degree oven for an hour. I didn't have time to puree them yesterday, so I put them in the fridge and did that today.
You basically blend them up until they are smooth. You will probably need to add a little water to get a decent consistency. I think I added maybe a half a cup for two sweet potatoes. I just kind of eye balled it.
You should get a pretty smooth puree which you can then portion on into ice cube trays. For me, my ice cube measurement is roughly a tablespoon, so that works out pretty much perfectly. Place all your puree into your trays and then freeze. Once they are froze you can use a knife to pop out the cubes and place into a Ziploc freezer bag. Two potatoes gave me 30 cubes of food plus 2-3 servings which I didn't freeze since I will be using them for a few days.
Between this and the apples, I have plenty of food to keep him fed for a while. Total hands on time was maybe an hour for each food. I am using the Wholesome Baby Food website as a reference/guide to making food for Colin. I think it has a lot of good information and recipes. Lentils will probably be one of the next foods to get prepared this way as they are rich in iron and provide a great base for adding in other foods. Good luck!
We actually did choose to make avocado Colin's first food and it was probably one of the best decisions we made. He actually liked the avocado and, as we later found out, on the mess scale, it's pretty low. He did still manage the get it all over him, but it wasn't nearly as bad as cereal. We decided to make that the second food so in a pinch if we had to, we would know it would be ok to give that to him. I am glad I bought a small box because I can't see going back to that EVER. On the mess scale that was probably oh, about an 11. I think the only way we are going to finish that box is if it gets mixed in with other real food.
After that episode, I decided to go educate myself on what a baby needs and great first foods. Aside from avocados; apples, sweet potatoes, and bananas are great too. My dad sent a big care package of apples from the family orchard in NY, so those were immediately used to make the first batch of food for him. Surprisingly, they were very easy to make. I chose the boil method, where you peel, core, and cut up apples and place in a pot. I added a small amount of water and cooked for about 15 minutes or until they were breaking down to mush. That's when you know they are ready.
For the sweet potatoes, I scrubbed them and stabbed them with a fork. Wrapped them up in tin foil and baked in a 400 degree oven for an hour. I didn't have time to puree them yesterday, so I put them in the fridge and did that today.
I peeled the sweet potatoes, which is really easy after they are cooled. The skin just peels off almost on it's own. Then I dropped them into my food processor.
You basically blend them up until they are smooth. You will probably need to add a little water to get a decent consistency. I think I added maybe a half a cup for two sweet potatoes. I just kind of eye balled it.
You should get a pretty smooth puree which you can then portion on into ice cube trays. For me, my ice cube measurement is roughly a tablespoon, so that works out pretty much perfectly. Place all your puree into your trays and then freeze. Once they are froze you can use a knife to pop out the cubes and place into a Ziploc freezer bag. Two potatoes gave me 30 cubes of food plus 2-3 servings which I didn't freeze since I will be using them for a few days.
Between this and the apples, I have plenty of food to keep him fed for a while. Total hands on time was maybe an hour for each food. I am using the Wholesome Baby Food website as a reference/guide to making food for Colin. I think it has a lot of good information and recipes. Lentils will probably be one of the next foods to get prepared this way as they are rich in iron and provide a great base for adding in other foods. Good luck!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Halloween Creations
Halloween is one of our favorite holidays in this household. We have a number of decorations to put up around the house, but most of what we had filled a small apartment, so it looks sparse in our much bigger home. So I have been looking for ways to add to our collection.
I am going to have to give credit to Pinterest again for this idea, but I still love it. It was very easy and didn't take a lot of time. The hardest part was finding the silly spider rings at the craft store. This project is also way wallet friendly ($4 with supplies left over). So much so I didn't feel too bad about not having a coupon on me for this. Here's what you will need:
Step 1: Cut the ring part off of the spider rings so you just have the spider bodies left. Note: The back of the spider will not be super smooth, but just try to cut it as close as you can.
Step 2: Cut the magnets to match the size of the spider body. This should be enough to get them to stick.
Step 3: Using your hot glue gun, put a small dot of glue on the magnet and press onto your spider body.
Step 4: Apply to whatever surface you wish. I chose my door because I think it's way fun. You can do any surface that a magnet will stick to.
Happy Halloweening!
I am going to have to give credit to Pinterest again for this idea, but I still love it. It was very easy and didn't take a lot of time. The hardest part was finding the silly spider rings at the craft store. This project is also way wallet friendly ($4 with supplies left over). So much so I didn't feel too bad about not having a coupon on me for this. Here's what you will need:
- Spider Rings (or other small Halloween toys - they have to be light for this to work)
- Magnets (I used a strip of magnet tape found at the craft store)
- Hot Glue Gun (and sticks)
- Scissors
Step 1: Cut the ring part off of the spider rings so you just have the spider bodies left. Note: The back of the spider will not be super smooth, but just try to cut it as close as you can.
Step 2: Cut the magnets to match the size of the spider body. This should be enough to get them to stick.
Step 3: Using your hot glue gun, put a small dot of glue on the magnet and press onto your spider body.
Step 4: Apply to whatever surface you wish. I chose my door because I think it's way fun. You can do any surface that a magnet will stick to.
Happy Halloweening!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Homemade Mixes
Lately I have been pondering ways to be more efficient in the kitchen. Sometimes this means time-wise and sometimes this means cost-wise. In this particular instance, I think it might have been a little bit of both. With fall settling in fast and furious, comfort food season will soon be underway. This time of year I find myself wanting to bake more and this includes breads, specifically as it relates to this post - corn bread. Ain't nothing wrong with that!
I have always just bought the blue box of Jiffy mix and called it a day, but I thought how hard can this be to make my own corn bread? Thanks to the age of the internet, turns out, its really not too difficult. This website offered the recipe for the dry mix and then how to use it. For those that are too lazy to go to the site, here's the scoop.
This cornbread mix makes one batch of either a 8x8 baking dish, or approximately 6 muffins. You can also use it any place a recipe calls for a “8.5 ounce cornbread mix box.” It can be easily doubled, tripled or multiplied to any degree you wish (I did quadruple) and stored in an airtight container for 4-6 months. If you do multiply this mix recipe, simply use approximately 1 ¾ cup mix.
Homemade Cornbread Mix
¾ cup cornmeal
¾ cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Mix all ingredients together. Store if needed.
When ready to use preheat oven to 425 degrees, then, mix in a separate bowl:
1 egg
¾ cup skim milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Add the wet ingredients to the cornmeal mix and stir until just incorporated.
Cook for 20-25 minutes if using a 8x8 baking dish, or 15-20 minutes for muffins, removing the muffins or bread from the oven when the center is no longer jiggly and the edges are slightly browned.
The site goes on to mention that this is a great money saving way to use pantry staples for something you would normally get "out of a box". Also, they make another great point which is this probably has less chemicals/garbage than you average box mix too. That's always nice.
I am hoping to make a few more of these mixes as I find ones I would actually use. I just need to find containers for them all. I happened to find the one for this in a random cleaning on the cupboards the other day. I don't think I'll get that lucky again, but ya never know!
I have always just bought the blue box of Jiffy mix and called it a day, but I thought how hard can this be to make my own corn bread? Thanks to the age of the internet, turns out, its really not too difficult. This website offered the recipe for the dry mix and then how to use it. For those that are too lazy to go to the site, here's the scoop.
This cornbread mix makes one batch of either a 8x8 baking dish, or approximately 6 muffins. You can also use it any place a recipe calls for a “8.5 ounce cornbread mix box.” It can be easily doubled, tripled or multiplied to any degree you wish (I did quadruple) and stored in an airtight container for 4-6 months. If you do multiply this mix recipe, simply use approximately 1 ¾ cup mix.
Homemade Cornbread Mix
¾ cup cornmeal
¾ cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Mix all ingredients together. Store if needed.
When ready to use preheat oven to 425 degrees, then, mix in a separate bowl:
1 egg
¾ cup skim milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Add the wet ingredients to the cornmeal mix and stir until just incorporated.
Cook for 20-25 minutes if using a 8x8 baking dish, or 15-20 minutes for muffins, removing the muffins or bread from the oven when the center is no longer jiggly and the edges are slightly browned.
The site goes on to mention that this is a great money saving way to use pantry staples for something you would normally get "out of a box". Also, they make another great point which is this probably has less chemicals/garbage than you average box mix too. That's always nice.
I am hoping to make a few more of these mixes as I find ones I would actually use. I just need to find containers for them all. I happened to find the one for this in a random cleaning on the cupboards the other day. I don't think I'll get that lucky again, but ya never know!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
First Family Vacation
Over the Labor Day holiday, we took our first family vacation down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina (of course!). On our way down, we stopped in to visit our friends the Whites and their little girl Julia. It's been a while since we have gotten a chance to visit with them and it was their first time meeting Colin. Julia was happy to try to play with Colin, but he was mostly just taking it all in. :)
After a short stay, we ventured further down to our final destination in Nags Head, NC. It's crazy to think I have been coming here with him for the past 7 years (first trip in 2005 - egads!). He proposed at The Marshes Lighthouse in Manteo and we got married on the beach in Nags Head. Needless to say, I think it's fitting we decided to make this our first family vacation destination.
Our first day, we made it out to the beach in the late afternoon. It's a good thing we did because during the rest of our stay, the waters were super rough and red flagged so it was our only opportunity for a dip. Colin was totally fascinated with the sound of the waves and kept turning around to face the water.
Rob and I decided we should probably stick his toes in the ocean to make it an official visit to the beach. At 4.5 months, that seemed to be all that was needed. Next year we might venture into the sound a little bit.
Colin didn't seem to mind the water at all even though it was cooler than his normal bath water. It was still a lot warmer than what Rob and I are used to for ocean temps in May. We could actually get in without waiting for body parts to go numb. Ha!
Randomly, I found out that my high school friend Ryan and his wife Alina were also in the Outer Banks visiting at the same time, so we met up for lunch. Alina is expecting in December, so they got some practical experience holding Colin. :) It was good to see them again.
Our friends had brought down their kayak to play around in the sound, so we took turns giving it a go. I have never kayaked before, but I thought it was a lot of fun.
Rob had apparently been before, but it's been a while. He still did really good and maneuvered pretty good around the water.
And finally, there was a beautiful sunset that happened on our last night there. I had an important lesson in lenses and my new camera. Going from AC to like 150% humidity causes fogging. With the quick sunset, the lens never really cleared, but it kind of makes for an interesting affect.
Overall, it was a great vacation. The ride home was a bit trying, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Here's hoping to many more family vacations to one of our favorite places on Earth. :)
After a short stay, we ventured further down to our final destination in Nags Head, NC. It's crazy to think I have been coming here with him for the past 7 years (first trip in 2005 - egads!). He proposed at The Marshes Lighthouse in Manteo and we got married on the beach in Nags Head. Needless to say, I think it's fitting we decided to make this our first family vacation destination.
Our first day, we made it out to the beach in the late afternoon. It's a good thing we did because during the rest of our stay, the waters were super rough and red flagged so it was our only opportunity for a dip. Colin was totally fascinated with the sound of the waves and kept turning around to face the water.
Rob and I decided we should probably stick his toes in the ocean to make it an official visit to the beach. At 4.5 months, that seemed to be all that was needed. Next year we might venture into the sound a little bit.
Colin didn't seem to mind the water at all even though it was cooler than his normal bath water. It was still a lot warmer than what Rob and I are used to for ocean temps in May. We could actually get in without waiting for body parts to go numb. Ha!
Randomly, I found out that my high school friend Ryan and his wife Alina were also in the Outer Banks visiting at the same time, so we met up for lunch. Alina is expecting in December, so they got some practical experience holding Colin. :) It was good to see them again.
Our friends had brought down their kayak to play around in the sound, so we took turns giving it a go. I have never kayaked before, but I thought it was a lot of fun.
Rob had apparently been before, but it's been a while. He still did really good and maneuvered pretty good around the water.
And finally, there was a beautiful sunset that happened on our last night there. I had an important lesson in lenses and my new camera. Going from AC to like 150% humidity causes fogging. With the quick sunset, the lens never really cleared, but it kind of makes for an interesting affect.
Overall, it was a great vacation. The ride home was a bit trying, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Here's hoping to many more family vacations to one of our favorite places on Earth. :)
Monday, September 24, 2012
Colin's Quilt
I finally made the time to finish my son's first quilt not all that long
ago. It took a while with everything else I was doing, but he now has a
place to play and drool on. :)
I was having a hard time picking THE quilt pattern for him. I really wanted a sailboat pattern, but the ones I found I wasn't happy with and so I ultimately settled on a pattern I had used for my friend's little girl. I opted for frogs instead of butterflies this time, but it was still fun trying to pick out all of the fabric I was going to need. You really need to have a clear vision of what you want your finished product to look like to pick good fabrics. So far I'd like to think I have had pretty good luck. :)
Over a couple of weeks I did all of the cutting and initial block making. This quilt takes a few steps just to get to the image show below. For each of those green-blue-white blocks, I had to sew two larger blocks into two smaller squares for each color combination (green-blue and blue-white) and divide them each time. Then for the final assembly, sew the two different combinations together and split them once more to get the final block. It's a lot of small steps, but if you find your groove it doesn't take too long.
The easier pieces of the block are just the straight white blocks and even the motif centered blocks. The motif centered (frogs) are a little tricky just to make sure you have enough fabric and can get the character centered how you want them. This one was slightly easier than the butterflies, but still a bit tricky.
Once you get all 9 blocks together you get the one bigger block which becomes the true block you work into your pattern. I alternated the pieced blocks with what are referred to as "snowball" blocks. I guess someone thought that's what they looked like at one point. In any case, once you get the lined up and sewn together, you start to see a fun larger pattern emerge.
The final top layer step is to add borders. They really make the quilt come together and give it definition. Once you get that part together, you can start to assemble the quilt with your top layer (quilted), the filling (typically cotton batting), and then your backing (typically a solid fabric). This was the first quilt I decided to machine together, so it was a bit intense putting it through my machine. But the good news is, I now know I can do it, and it gives it a somewhat professional look to it.
Quilting truly is a labor of love. I am sure my little man is going to make all kinds of messes on this quilt, but I also know that it will be a keepsake no matter what shape it gets to be. :)
Friday, August 17, 2012
Used Pins
No, not that kind of pin, a pinterest kind of pin! I know, it wasn't too long ago when I posted my rant about peoples ridiculous tag lines when they pins things, but what can I say? It's a current topic. Since I mentioned my rant, I would like to make two additions to the over used tag line list:
"I NEED TO REMEMBER TO DO THIS!!" Yes, this is why we pin things you idgit.
"Pin(ning) now, read(ing) later" Umm no you won't. If you can't possibly take 1-2 minutes to validate the pin is worth re-pinning, you are NOT going to give it any thought later.
Anywho, I thought it might be a neat idea to share what I have actually used in the world of Pinterest. I try to pin things I find cool, inspiring, or something I really want to try. And ok, so I have a board full of things I find hilarious as well that only serve the purpose of making me laugh, but it does the job!
So here's what I have really used:
Pacifier clips: http://craftycupboard.blogspot.com/2011/10/pacifier-clip-tutorial.html Very simple and straight forward pattern that has already been used for me and as a gift.
Yardage Chart: Incredibly handy because sometimes I don't want to do math. Maybe you don't either so here it is:
New way to print photo books: www.blurp.com It's better than snapfish and VERY customizable. You can do a real book if you wanted to on this site. I like that it allows for flexibility to do more than one line descriptions of a series of photos. I have two projects in work using their software, which is another bonus. I don't have to upload every single photo and be online to use their tool. I can do it all on my desktop and then upload the finished product.
Photo Canvas Project: http://www.literallyinspired.com/2012/02/picture-perfect.html I haven't done this one completely, but I have the canvas, black paint, and Mod Podge ready to go. I am waiting for a sale on poster prints before I pull the trigger. So far I have spent $2.50 for the canvas and $4 for Mod Podge (thank you craft coupon) and I would love it if I could do it all for less than $15. :) I will post results.
Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce: http://chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.ca/2012/03/pork-tenderloin-with-pan-sauce.html Definitely worth doing again! Delicious and pretty simple!
Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Crushed Red Pepper: http://www.yumsugar.com/Spaghetti-Garlic-Olive-Oil-Chili-Flakes-21398824 Tasty enough, but the recipe would need to be tweaked for me to do it again.
Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/side-dish-recipes/Janet-s-Chocolate-Chip-Coffee-Cake Hands down fabulous coffee cake!
I have a few others in work, specifically for the fall and Christmas. We will see if they get used this year or will be lying in wait for future years. And let us not forget the 30+ pins I have for kid projects for when Colin is older. :) If you want to see the full collection, you'll have to follow me.
"I NEED TO REMEMBER TO DO THIS!!" Yes, this is why we pin things you idgit.
"Pin(ning) now, read(ing) later" Umm no you won't. If you can't possibly take 1-2 minutes to validate the pin is worth re-pinning, you are NOT going to give it any thought later.
Anywho, I thought it might be a neat idea to share what I have actually used in the world of Pinterest. I try to pin things I find cool, inspiring, or something I really want to try. And ok, so I have a board full of things I find hilarious as well that only serve the purpose of making me laugh, but it does the job!
Pacifier clips: http://craftycupboard.blogspot.com/2011/10/pacifier-clip-tutorial.html Very simple and straight forward pattern that has already been used for me and as a gift.
Yardage Chart: Incredibly handy because sometimes I don't want to do math. Maybe you don't either so here it is:
New way to print photo books: www.blurp.com It's better than snapfish and VERY customizable. You can do a real book if you wanted to on this site. I like that it allows for flexibility to do more than one line descriptions of a series of photos. I have two projects in work using their software, which is another bonus. I don't have to upload every single photo and be online to use their tool. I can do it all on my desktop and then upload the finished product.
Photo Canvas Project: http://www.literallyinspired.com/2012/02/picture-perfect.html I haven't done this one completely, but I have the canvas, black paint, and Mod Podge ready to go. I am waiting for a sale on poster prints before I pull the trigger. So far I have spent $2.50 for the canvas and $4 for Mod Podge (thank you craft coupon) and I would love it if I could do it all for less than $15. :) I will post results.
Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce: http://chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.ca/2012/03/pork-tenderloin-with-pan-sauce.html Definitely worth doing again! Delicious and pretty simple!
Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Crushed Red Pepper: http://www.yumsugar.com/Spaghetti-Garlic-Olive-Oil-Chili-Flakes-21398824 Tasty enough, but the recipe would need to be tweaked for me to do it again.
Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/side-dish-recipes/Janet-s-Chocolate-Chip-Coffee-Cake Hands down fabulous coffee cake!
I have a few others in work, specifically for the fall and Christmas. We will see if they get used this year or will be lying in wait for future years. And let us not forget the 30+ pins I have for kid projects for when Colin is older. :) If you want to see the full collection, you'll have to follow me.
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