tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46045088030330487442024-03-13T08:08:09.604-07:00Transplanted AmericanWriting to keep me sane: so the brain doesn't lose track of two kiddos, a hubby, a teaching career, and countless household tasks!Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-41649185110293597562014-02-24T11:12:00.004-08:002014-02-24T11:13:56.230-08:00January<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-n4o3uBehKdk/UwFfK0O5emI/AAAAAAAAAs8/gBiefRsuRRw/s1600/blogger-image--1132713230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-n4o3uBehKdk/UwFfK0O5emI/AAAAAAAAAs8/gBiefRsuRRw/s200/blogger-image--1132713230.jpg" width="149" /></span></a><br />
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-WvkVLcsOBvA/UwFfCqBxHhI/AAAAAAAAAsk/gH8sPih2eoA/s1600/blogger-image-1282100811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-WvkVLcsOBvA/UwFfCqBxHhI/AAAAAAAAAsk/gH8sPih2eoA/s200/blogger-image-1282100811.jpg" width="149" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">I've heard so many complaints about winter lately. Enough already! I don't know exactly what it is about this season, but I'm not anxious for spring to arrive too soon. By April, okay, but really people enjoy it while it's here. Funny because I'm usually cold no matter the season, so winter shouldn't be my favorite.....but it is. I love being out on the snow machine even on a cold day (last week it was a bitter -28 before the wind chill and I was the one convincing hubby to take a ride.). Then again I love the coziness of sitting in front of the fire or napping in front of it on Sundays (another reason I love our house! Thought I would hate a stove in the living room but it's actually pretty awesome.). This season is also such a good excuse to cook up special hot treats or work on those DIY projects from Pinterest. Actually I'd say we nailed all my favorite aspects of winter in January!! So here they are.</span><br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qCcXr-Ur6p0/UwFe8mGYaYI/AAAAAAAAAsU/3IyDx2GMb5k/s1600/blogger-image-410456959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qCcXr-Ur6p0/UwFe8mGYaYI/AAAAAAAAAsU/3IyDx2GMb5k/s200/blogger-image-410456959.jpg" width="149" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> Having gotten the bathroom mostly finished, and new office furniture I was inspired to reorganize and spruce up both rooms. We attempted some modge podge signs. It took a few tries before we got it right.</span></div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TmUjkGXUxjA/UwFfIf49bVI/AAAAAAAAAs0/8DF2tKRinMw/s1600/blogger-image--80101180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TmUjkGXUxjA/UwFfIf49bVI/AAAAAAAAAs0/8DF2tKRinMw/s200/blogger-image--80101180.jpg" width="149" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> Attempt #1 was a fail. First step was to have the kids paint canvases. Next, I mirror printed on matte photo paper. I'm not sure if it was the paper's finish or the fact that I bought regular modge podge, not photo (there must have been 15 kinds in Michaels). Paper went onto the canvas, ink side down and modge podge between the two layers. Once the modge podge was dry the instruction was to use a damp sponge and rub the paper off. Needless to say paper, ink, all of it was coming off. So we quit trying, reprinted it in the usual method (not reverse) and put the modge podge back on as a finish. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> We ended up with this one for the laundry:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And this one for the kids room:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On to our treats! I made these yummy Oreo cheesecake treats. They had a whole Oreo as the base and I loved how it stayed crunchy despite the cooking so that the top cheesecake layer would set.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Having said winter is my favorite season, we still attempted our own little project to welcome spring. Clear glass vases with rocks, water (just up to the top of the rocks), and tulip bulbs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tulip bulbs via Rebekah's <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6755468162818775/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://off-the-wall-0.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Off the Wall</a> (Not sure about that link. It looked like a dead end when I checked it just now?! I literally used the instructions that were already in the pin when I pinned it.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another recipe I used for dessert came recommended by a friend. Chocolate Chip Stuffed Cheesecake Bars were a quick one to throw together, because they use premade cookie dough (Pillsbury, etc.) The most time consuming was smooshing the dough into the bottom and top layer. I was worried the cheesecake in the middle was going to ooze everywhere when I got to the top layer, so I pre-smooshed (yes, I realize that's probably a made up word) that layer on aluminum foil and then flipped it over the top of the cheesecake. Aluminum foil made it stick a little bit, so I'd try my pie sheet next time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Chocolate Chip Stuffed Cheesecake Bars via <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4604508803033048744#editor/target=post;postID=4164918511029359756;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinteres</a>t via <a href="http://hugsandcookiesxoxo.com/2013/09/cookie-bars-stuffed-cheesecake.html" target="_blank">Hugs and Cookies</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I also made a few of these sweet blankets last month. At Black Friday sales I got four different soft flannel fabrics to make up some no-sew tie blankets for a few new babies that would be making their appearance within the next few months. The first two were boys, and since I only have girly fabric left I'm hoping the next to arrive is a girl or else I'll just have to do some more shopping. Scratch that, maybe I'll just go fabric shopping no matter what! I just love the chevrons! And the animal print on the other side that I also cut initials out of is pretty sweet too!</span></div>
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Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-15481417441714865402014-01-05T14:52:00.004-08:002014-01-05T14:52:36.208-08:002014<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Can't quite believe, and I feel a little old every time I say this, another year has passed. It's 2014 already? <br />
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I'm not sure exactly what the best approach to a new year is...a set of .new resolutions? All the fun of imagining what the new year will bring us? Right now I'm still feeling a little like I imagined too much for 2013 and I'm going to try to keep it simpler or at least plan a little less what this year will be. <br />
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I've been thinking a lot about choices...saw some sayings and quotes on Pinterest recently that sparked my interest. One was something to the effect of how we want to be measured by our choice not by chance. Since 2013 seemed to be my year for the chance, I'm not sure how much I agree with that. And yet, I'm still hoping that it is true, to a degree. There is chance, but even when we factor in that unknown variable we still must choose.<br />
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Anyways...a little time off and I start musing too much again! We had a pretty great break. Just the right amount of relaxing and work and family and friends. I'm feeling ALMOST ready to get back to schedule, although I'm already dreading the alarm ringing tomorrow morning!<br />
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These were some fun cookies we made for moose for library school. I used my sugar cookie recipie and added the rest from this Pinterest link. I do have to say I make good sugar cookies, but like a lot of cookies I think the thing to do is use lots of real butter.<br />
Reindeer Cookie Inspiration via <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6755468164746638/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a><br />
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We also made these grinch kabobs for M&M's class that were quickly devoured. Always fun to sneak a little fruit into the party!<br />
Grinch Kabobs via <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6755468164900178/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a><br />
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I did this fun project with my mom while she was here, and the bow is thanks to her crafty skills. We had a lot of trouble finding a good pinterest link for a burlap wreath that gave instructions, so we turned to good old Google and came up with this one from <a href="http://www.lifeonmarsblog.net/2012/03/easy-burlap-wreath.html" target="_blank">Life on Mars</a>.</div>
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My last project of the break was to get the bathroom done. Well we are closer anyways. Dad finished the drywall, so I was able to paint and I got a few new decor items as a reward! I also had hubby and a brother-in-law do some trim on Boxing Day so I had fun starting the painting of that. Of course they ran out of pieces before they could finish around the door and under the bathroom window, so my almost finished room is still a little lacking, but I take what I can get!</div>
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Hope your break was as enjoyable as ours and you are ready to face this New Year!<br />
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Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-61440804092167742262013-10-30T07:43:00.002-07:002013-10-30T07:43:42.403-07:00Boo to You!Here in Canada we get to celebrate with two holidays in October, Thanksgiving and Halloween! <br />
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Starting off the month with Thanksgiving really puts me on the mood to do some fall cooking, especially when it comes to baking goodies. I tried a few pumpkin muffin recipes this month, including the pumpkin cake recipe that I first tried in September. I also spiced it up a bit by adding a cream cheese surprise from <a href="http://me-transplantedamericaninthetruenorth.blogspot.ca/2013_07_01_archive.html" target="_blank">these </a>carrot cake muffins that I made earlier in the year. They were a hit.</div>
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Another muffin recipe from the month was this French toast muffins. I loved the crunchy brown sugar butter layer they were rolled in, but these didn't disappear into the lunch boxes quite as fast as the pumpkin ones.<br />
French Toast Muffins via <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6755468164596674/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a><br />
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Halloween is a fun time for cooking up some ghoulish treats. We've tried to do something fun for dinner for the past several years. I'm still planning this years dinner and treats for the few parties (kindergarten class, library school, ect) that the kids are involved in, but I'll share last years with you.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fmt17PkPRRk/UnERspWfMeI/AAAAAAAAAo8/2hYLqJRpzvM/s1600/IMG_0948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fmt17PkPRRk/UnERspWfMeI/AAAAAAAAAo8/2hYLqJRpzvM/s200/IMG_0948.JPG" width="149" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0MzWglyEzDU/UnEREfvSRcI/AAAAAAAAAow/yBOdGxj8Y3c/s1600/IMG_0966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0MzWglyEzDU/UnEREfvSRcI/AAAAAAAAAow/yBOdGxj8Y3c/s320/IMG_0966.JPG" width="239" /></a> <br />
For our 2012 Halloween dinner we feasted on Mummy's, Pumpkin Cesear Salad, Rice Krispy Treat Pumpkins, and Bloody Fishbowl Drinks. The Mummy's were: hot dogs wrapped in crescent roll dough. Our cesear salads were held in hollowed out orange skins that we made to look like mini Jack O Lanterns. The pumpkin rice krispy treats only looked liked pumpkins, by shaping them into balls rather than squares and adding some frosting for a Jack O Lantern face. I used some red cranberry juice and a bit of Sprite with fish and shark shaped gummies for the drinks. The kids talk about Halloween dinner all year long!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BbAVl6Vn5Xs/UnERsXCIOjI/AAAAAAAAAo4/SRRBC4giZoo/s1600/IMG_0946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BbAVl6Vn5Xs/UnERsXCIOjI/AAAAAAAAAo4/SRRBC4giZoo/s320/IMG_0946.JPG" width="239" /></a> Thinking there would be a bunch of unhealthy treats brought into Emma's school(there wasn't), I did a platter that looked a bit like a Jack O Lantern for something fun and healthy. This year we are going to give them some more sugar...why not? We are making some cute rice krispy ghosts tonight.<br />
Veggie Platter via <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6755468162482324/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://blogs.babycenter.com/life_and_home/10-easy-halloween-treats-bonus-vomit-inducing-cookie/" target="_blank">Baby Center</a><br />
Rice Krispy Ghosts via <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6755468162120633/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via the <a href="http://www.theidearoom.net/2011/10/rice-krispie-barhalloween-ghosts.html" target="_blank">Idea Room</a><br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qD3BUazlUUY/UnEVUkbtWPI/AAAAAAAAApU/KqhxnHUB3r0/s640/blogger-image-601503836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qD3BUazlUUY/UnEVUkbtWPI/AAAAAAAAApU/KqhxnHUB3r0/s200/blogger-image-601503836.jpg" width="149" /></a>Of course Jack O Lanterns is a must every year and this year was no exception. We also had some friends give us a "white" pumpkin. They had painted chevrons on one of theirs and M&M really wanted to make the same design on ours. Feeling like chevrons were a little beyond us we decided to do some stripes with tape. After much taping and painting we discovered that black tempura paint will not stick to pumpkins. Emma had a blast painting the pumpkin, but in the end I had to flake all that hard work off and do some spray painting myself. Not exactly the most kid friendly of projects, and our pumpkin had a few extra runs and smears from the trial and error process, but something fun and different, especially from a distance.<br />
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Another activity we usually get into during October is Halloween costumes. The first few years I was able to find some cute costumes at yard sales during the summer. <br />
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However, as M&M and Moose get older I have found the costumes too Disney and less and less cute factor. Last year we began making our own costumes. M&M was a peacock, which turned out simple enough by using felt to make a few peacock feathers for a shirt we had on hand and tying up a tulle skirt in peacock colors. We found a mask at the dollar store and her outfit was complete.<br />
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Moose was even easier. Being that his nickname is Moose and we were going for an animal theme, I made some Moose shaped antlers out of (again) felt and sewed them on a brown hoodie from the dresser. Over it we put a red shirt that had a picture of a moose and the caption "Eh!" Cute and simple for our little moose.<br />
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And then of course we were all fed up and dressed up and set to take off for some "trick or treats!" Happy Halloween!<br />
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<br />Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-1580477853802396192013-10-01T18:02:00.002-07:002013-10-02T13:10:06.495-07:00September I had a friend that we see infrequently ask me at the beginning of the month if we had a good year. While I've always considered myself to be something of a pessimist, I had very little hesitation before I answered yes it was a good year. It certainly hasn't been the year I've tried to plan, but I think I might be learning a little about how the cup can still be half full even through the rough experiences. <br />
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On March 6, 2013, we lost the little sibling that we had been hoping to give Moose and M&M. It had been a rough several weeks of not knowing what we were exactly facing before the Dr. Was finally able to decide that I required surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. In case you are wondering what an ectopic pregnancy is...this happens when the pregnancy implants in some place other than the womb. Mine ended up being in the left tube, which was subsequently removed. They were a scary few weeks and I emerged feeling very grateful for modern medicine (imagine the kind of death I would have succumbed to if it were 100years ago on the farm!), but also guilty that I was severely out of commission for several weeks (wasn't it a little selfish to even think about adding another to our family when we have so much already!). I was also upset at the thought that we had no choice but for the pregnancy to end in order to save my life. I felt the loss keenly, never before quite realizing what losing an unborn child was like. There were alot of questions that remain unanswered, but above all I have been thankful for all the reminders of how fleeting life can be and for the trust that I have in a higher order where one day all will be answered.</div>
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After waiting the allotted recovery period we decided that maybe it wasn't so selfish to think of adding another to our family and tried again. Not being sure exactly what to expect we were pleased when the months didn't drag by, as I had been forewarned they might due to the surgery. I had two fairly normal pregnancies with Emma and Tommy and since the issues I experienced with them never amounted to what my fears sometimes told me was happening, I tried to keep the worries at bay. I was 2.5 months along, had the pregnancy confirmed by my Dr. Went through, what I thought was a routine ultrasound, hoping I could announce to the family our hopes within the next few days.</div>
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Instead, on September 13, 2013 I lost my fourth pregnancy. Again there are many questions that remain unanswered and while I hope we will have some things laid out for us once the dust has settled and we get news from the Dr., I know that there will always be those pessimistic moments when I will have to make myself stop and see the good through the hurt.</div>
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I decided to add this experience to my blog because I think it very much helps when we are going through some awful and unknown experience to be able to talk to others about it. It was certainly my saving grace some days and I am still receiving calls and texts and messages that help me out alot. It has helped me to talk through it all with others that have similar experiences and realize we aren't as crazy as we sometimes feel!<br />
Sympathy isn't what I or anyone else I know of are really looking for in a situation like this, but understanding that this hurts and that we might never get the happy ending we planned helps. Your hugs help. I've realized that I am often quick to jump to conclusions about others when I have no idea what battle they are facing that the rest of us can't see. I hope I can have more understanding for others because I feel like I understand better how much our plans for the future are frail at best. My sister wrote me a touching poem that describes a lot my feelings. She published it on her blog and you can read that <a href="http://themechanicssister.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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Having said that, I am going to finish this post with the usual, because despite our plans and hopes for the future I want to look at some of the good things this month gave us. I found this quote on <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6755468164458754/" target="_blank">Pinterest </a>in a printable form <a href="http://www.simpleasthatblog.com/2011/09/simple-things-free-printables.html" target="_blank">here</a>. It's from Whinnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne :<br />
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Smallest things</div>
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Take up the most</div>
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I made these delicious chow mein noodle cookies early in the month...soo good and ridiculously easy! I'd had them as a kid, but this was my first attempt and I was glad Pinterest let me find an old recipe.<br />
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Chow Mein Cookies via <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6755468164407005/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://briesbites.com/easy-chocolate-butterscotch-chow-mein-cookies/" target="_blank">Brie's Bites</a><br />
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I also made this ridiculously good pumpkin cake. It was supposed to be three layers with maple cream cheese frosting, but I ended up doing two layers and now have extra cream cheese frosting that I plan to use on some kind of fall cookies. Also plan on making another batch of the cake again as it made really yummy muffins for a lunch snack for the guys to take and for me to add as a treat to M&M's lunch. So moist for a from scratch cake!! (and I somehow missed taking a picture : ()<br />
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Pumpkin Dream Cake via <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/6755468164323149/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/2012/10/pumpkin-dream-cake/" target="_blank">The Novice Chef</a><br />
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My parents came up to visit and give me a boost and that's another thing I'm grateful for. We got some more projects done, of course and it was good to have company around after feeling down! The biggest project we tackled was getting the house painted. Mom and I worked on that while dad did a bunch of endless, thankless tasks that were needing acomplishing. Except they were not entirely thankless...I thanked him lots! In the picture below, (after paint) you almost don't notice that the bottom brick is painted and doesn't look quite the same as the top. Goodbye fire engine red!</div>
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We had a fun tourist excursion to Toronto to spend a much needed weekend away! Took in a Jay's game with the family and freaked M&M out with the height of the CN Tower.<br />
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Another gem from pinterest:<br />
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...For the taxes that I pay because it means that I am employed.<br />
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...For the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.<br />
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...For my shadow that watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.<br />
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...For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.<br />
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...For all the complaining I hear about government because it means we have freedom of speech. <br />
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...For the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.<br />
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...For my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.<br />
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...For the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.<br />
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...For the piles of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear.<br />
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...For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I am alive.<br />
<br />Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-59328806646705830762013-09-02T12:40:00.003-07:002013-09-02T12:42:04.140-07:002013---August<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Our lazy days of summer (ie sleeping in until 9:30) are about to coming crashing to a brutal halt! I always have good intentions of starting the routine a week early to get us used to getting up and going to bed earlier, but alas, that off button on the alarm, coupled with the knowing today is only practice is far too tempting. Our only salvation will be that we are heading off for a last trip to one of our church conventions after only one day back and that will get us into a much earlier routine. </div>
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Lemon Bundt Cake via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468164299371/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://mommyimhungry.blogspot.ca/2011/06/blueberry-lemon-bundt-cake.html" target="_blank">Mommy I'm Hungry</a></div>
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Besides the sleeping in, we have had a fun, relaxing summer. I've been doing a lot of baking to keep the hubby and my brother with plenty of snack foods. We've had several versions of blueberry loaf or cake, but this loaf with a lemon frosting was a favourite. Lots of blueberries, tangy lemon frosting, and moist cake made for a winner.<br />
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Another yummy treat were these peanut butter balls. We especially liked the white chocolate dribbled on top. I've actually made them twice this month, but the second time I tried it from memory and the consistency wasn't exactly the same as the first time. The experience was fun for M&M who loved moulding the balls before we dipped them in chocolate. <br />
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Peanut Butter Balls via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468164204388/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> via c<a href="http://blogchikabaker.blogspot.ca/2012/03/peanutbutter-balls.html?m=1" target="_blank">hikabaker</a></div>
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I've been wanting to try these meatballs from Pinterest all summer. The ingredients were a little out of the ordinary, but nothing hard to find and they definitely added extra flavour to our last batch of spaghetti from my canning last year. The end of summer also heralds canning season, and spaghetti is next on my list. (Peaches are today's job!)<br />
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Ricotta Cheese Meatballs via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468164144746/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/recipe-index/?recipe_id=6013536" target="_blank">Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice</a> (my link via pinterest appears dead, but I found the blog and recipe again through a simple Google search, so the CS&EN link I have posted here seems to still be working)<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R-186-Oio0U/UiTmMczcbZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/zpIzCxcUPZg/s640/blogger-image--941548142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R-186-Oio0U/UiTmMczcbZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/zpIzCxcUPZg/s320/blogger-image--941548142.jpg" width="320" /></a>This was a quick project that I think adds simple curb appeal to the house, while making it easier for someone unfamiliar with our house to find there way to the address. Plus my hubby was getting a bunch of stickers made up for his equipment so this got thrown in free! <br />
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Address via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162504942/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/78448476/custom-home-front-door-or-mailbox-label?utm_campaign=Share&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_source=Pinterest" itemprop="url" target="_blank"><span itemprop="title" style="color: #f9cb9c;">MalloryNikolaus</span></a><span style="color: #f9cb9c;"> Etsy Shop</span> (means you can get your own for only 12.99!!)</div>
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I've also been very excited to see our siding arrive and start to make its way onto the house...progress! Back deck will be next!</div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-RnGAL1QkFVE/UiTmIV6SpgI/AAAAAAAAAnA/imvOlmBL7QA/s1600/blogger-image-1917227749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-RnGAL1QkFVE/UiTmIV6SpgI/AAAAAAAAAnA/imvOlmBL7QA/s200/blogger-image-1917227749.jpg" width="149" /></a><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OiP6iqq41oA/UiTmKForcSI/AAAAAAAAAnI/GlgvhLuQAs0/s1600/blogger-image-1269171025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OiP6iqq41oA/UiTmKForcSI/AAAAAAAAAnI/GlgvhLuQAs0/s200/blogger-image-1269171025.jpg" width="149" /></a>One final project I undertook in the last few days was some sewing. My sister-in-law noticed this cute chevron material when we were at Fabricland and I picked up a 16x30 rectangle for 2.50. It turned into a matching tie and headband for Moose and M&M. I've made the tie using this site before and loved that I could match Tommy to Emma perfectly. The headband was also super easy with clear directions and lots pictures. Style! <br />
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(M&M looks a little grumpy because she had just discovered that one of the girls we go to church with was off to Toronto for school and she wouldn't be able to see her twice a week anymore...it's only been coming all summer, but she just realized how permanent it was! As for Moose...don't you love his rocking baseball shirt underneath? He's worn it nonstop since I bought it.)<br />
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Headband via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468164353777/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> via the <a href="http://www.thetraintocrazy.com/2011/08/dysg-guest-tutorial-teach-your-girl-to-sew-a-headband.html" target="_blank">Train to Crazy</a><br />
Tie via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163037915/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.vanillajoy.com/toddler-neck-tie-pattern.html" target="_blank">Vanilla Joy</a><br />
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<br />Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-82345128844955136242013-08-01T11:39:00.001-07:002013-08-01T11:39:09.374-07:00July PinterestSob, sob...summer is halfway over! I'm regretting a bit, now that we are at the midpoint, not doing another summer bucket list! I felt like it made us remember to do something fun and a little-bit out of the ordinary, if not everyday, then every other day. I could probably get one started now, but there is a bit of organizational work involved and being that I'm rather anal about organizing, I'm not feeling ambitious enough! Regardless, our first month of summer went great!<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--NFeKVfatVU/UfgEKhI605I/AAAAAAAAAlI/3AaM_QKqEoM/s640/blogger-image-1740958559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--NFeKVfatVU/UfgEKhI605I/AAAAAAAAAlI/3AaM_QKqEoM/s200/blogger-image-1740958559.jpg" width="149" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s-vmsTi9Zxg/UfgEPzo_dFI/AAAAAAAAAlg/nDUnyI94F9Q/s640/blogger-image--2037398216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s-vmsTi9Zxg/UfgEPzo_dFI/AAAAAAAAAlg/nDUnyI94F9Q/s320/blogger-image--2037398216.jpg" width="239" /></a> We started off by heading out to the US to visit with some cousins and other extended family that is scattered throughout, Michigan, Florida, Europe, and then us Ontarians. It was a relaxing start to the summer! <br />
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In celebration of Canada Day (July 1, for the un-Canadians) and all the yummy strawberries we had at our local u-pick patch I made this strawberry pie. I've never actually made a plain strawberry pie, because I always thought it needed another berry to pair it with, but was super impressed with how delicious strawberry pie is! I'd also like to add that we love white chocolate and since I was doing up some strawberry tarts at the same time I paired the strawberries with a white chocolate chunk to make them extra yummy. When I cut into the pie I decided to melt some white chocolate and drizzle it over the top with whip cream....wouldn't eat it any other way now!<br />
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**While I specifically remember reading a blog the day I made this pie so I could do something with my leftover crusts I cannot find the pin on Pinterest or the blog, but if you search for strawberry pop tarts you can find something similar to what you see here!<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-dwJ_mv-BpvU/UfgFBgPdX8I/AAAAAAAAAmA/GgdGesLC6tc/s640/blogger-image--634307830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-dwJ_mv-BpvU/UfgFBgPdX8I/AAAAAAAAAmA/GgdGesLC6tc/s320/blogger-image--634307830.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gNsMpc984Mc/UfgEJIH0vsI/AAAAAAAAAlA/LafwQQklqVE/s640/blogger-image-93819685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gNsMpc984Mc/UfgEJIH0vsI/AAAAAAAAAlA/LafwQQklqVE/s200/blogger-image-93819685.jpg" width="149" /></a>On the last day of the u-pick strawberries being open for the season we snagged one final bag full that we ended up taking camping. There are so many fun camping ideas on Pinterest. This was the one I decided to try since it looked quick and easy. (Dip strawberries in marshmallow fluff.) Then you were to skewer the dipped strawberry and roast it over the fire. It was a good combination, but I had problems with the strawberries staying on the stick as they were getting a bit on the juicy side. As well, the marshmallow fluff wanted to slide off the strawberry as it heated up. My sister decided to roast a regular marshmallow and then stuff the strawberry inside of that. She also thought of adding the strawberry to a smore. Also an awesome pair! With the chocolate it was a little bit like a gourmet, albeit much messier, version of a chocolate covered strawberry. (If you have a hard time finding the marshmallow fluff, it was by the ice-cream cones and toppings in our grocery store.) <br />
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Marshmallow fluff strawberry via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163272412/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://frostmeblog.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Cookie Cutter Frosting</a><br />
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My brother's birthday falls in July and since he has been staying with us it was up to me to make a birthday cake. I made this yummy sounding lemonade cake. I was told by the critics that it was not very lemony tasting, but I thought it was perfect. The frosting really made it...but I'm kind-of a huge fan of cream-cheese frostings. Aren't my decorating skills amazing? The sprinkles are supposed to be his first initial, a "D" and he was turning 22, but since I didn't have quite that many candles we made do.<br />
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Lemonade Cake via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163845935/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemonade-layer-cake-10000000249959/" target="_blank">My Recipes</a><br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G9QiYrXYcII/UfgFDdEi7uI/AAAAAAAAAmI/8TYJYxdJJ7k/s640/blogger-image--1521758132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G9QiYrXYcII/UfgFDdEi7uI/AAAAAAAAAmI/8TYJYxdJJ7k/s200/blogger-image--1521758132.jpg" width="149" /></a>Some days you just need an activity to keep the kids busy so you can finish up a project or make supper or clean up a houseful of disaster. (Obviously trying to make another pitch for Pinterest here.) I've had this activity (or the supplies for it) stuck in the cupboard since March, but had decided to wait until warmer weather hit when M&M and Moose could do it outside. Using cornstarch and shaving cream, mixed, you were supposed to be able to make a kind of snow anytime of year. However, it didn't work quite as I expected. I think it would have been better if I had more shaving cream to add to the cornstarch as the "snow" didn't want to stick together enough to form into much of a ball. The kids had fun running between the sprinkler and their bowls, so I guess the whole fun/occupied idea did work, if not exactly in the way I thought. The recipe called for 2 boxes of cornstarch to 1 can shaving cream, but I would not dump the entire two boxes out before you start mixing in the shaving cream, or it will not be sticky enough.<br />
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Fluffy Snow via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162839153/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a>, but no viable from there link :(<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BIDQhYLD1bk/UfgEOedJC0I/AAAAAAAAAlY/znVuT9FAz4U/s640/blogger-image--1744354784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BIDQhYLD1bk/UfgEOedJC0I/AAAAAAAAAlY/znVuT9FAz4U/s200/blogger-image--1744354784.jpg" width="149" /></a><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XFqqIO-tiHQ/UfgETnF1VQI/AAAAAAAAAlw/Z8AGyo3TUEY/s640/blogger-image--1403164691.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XFqqIO-tiHQ/UfgETnF1VQI/AAAAAAAAAlw/Z8AGyo3TUEY/s320/blogger-image--1403164691.jpg" width="239" /></a>Cinnamon buns (from a can) are a tradition around our house on Saturday mornings. However we have gotten a little picky and prefer the cheap kind over Pillsbury's version. I'm forever the sale shopper tho and often pick up Pillsbury's version when they are on sale, thinking common these are Pillsbury, they have got to taste good. Then after making a can I realize why they aren't so great and am left with a second can in the fridge. I saw this idea of putting canned cinnamon buns in the waffle maker and decided to try it with the Pillsbury roll we'd had in the fridge for far too long. They were a fun way to change up our Saturday morning staple and much easier than making a batch of waffles. We added the icing sugar after cooking and a wee bit of maple syrup as well.<br />
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Cinnamon buns via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468164130204/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://foodpicsgo.com/?p=3222" target="_blank">Food Pics Go</a><br />
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We also had fun making these sweet sugar swirl cookies and rolling them in sprinkles. They've also been a hit, although I prefer my own sugar cookie dough from my Better Home and Garden cookbook. This dough is very chewy (in a good way). Similar to those sugar cookies you buy in the store with frosting and sprinkles on top. It might just be that they need the frosting to take a bit of the dryness out. Some of my cookies ended up pretty big and while the kids love the big ones I preferred the small ones: you got more sprinkles per mouthful!<br />
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Swirled Sugar Cookies via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468164157176/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.joysama.com/2013/07/swirled-sugar-cookies.html" target="_blank">Joysama Images</a><br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D9gL8OweMVE/UfgEMmVY-5I/AAAAAAAAAlQ/kNc65az857Y/s1600/blogger-image-1907741079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D9gL8OweMVE/UfgEMmVY-5I/AAAAAAAAAlQ/kNc65az857Y/s200/blogger-image-1907741079.jpg" width="149" /></a><br />
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This was a chocolate chip crack cake that I made when we went to a last minute get-together with some family and friends. It was yummy, quite sweet, but great with vanilla ice-cream. It was also very quick to throw together at the last minute.<br />
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Chocolate Chip Crack Cake via<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163760834/" target="_blank"> Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://thecozylittlekitchen.blogspot.ca/2010/11/chocolate-chip-ooey-gooey-butter-cake.html" target="_blank">The Cozy Little Kitchen</a> </div>
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Enjoy the second half of your summer!</div>
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<br />Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-86948923265910064332013-07-03T20:10:00.002-07:002013-07-03T20:10:19.340-07:00June When I thought May was hectic, I was anticipating that June would go a little slower. Somehow the month is gone and I have yet to post all our Pinterest yumminess. I feel like my relationship with Pinterest is slowly waning. Or perhaps it's just gone from a totally crazy addiction to something that relates more to normal life?! Anyways...glad summer is upon us! And while I wish that our schedule will be more relaxing for a few months, so my Pinterest interest can take back over, I can't quite envision days of relaxing by the pool, watching the kids swim while I pin away. But I will try to keep it in mind so that when we end up running around with craziness I will sit back, relax and find need those lazy days of summer to regain our equilibrium!<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Sob_ndFm1VE/UdThuez-vfI/AAAAAAAAAkM/1kKoep7FBWs/s640/blogger-image-2026227247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Sob_ndFm1VE/UdThuez-vfI/AAAAAAAAAkM/1kKoep7FBWs/s200/blogger-image-2026227247.jpg" width="149" /></a>I'm glad to say I squeezed in a couple of crafts last month. The first was a quick sewing project for Moose. M&M received a beautiful homemade dress from her Grammy for her birthday last month. We have our annual church convention in June that we dress up for and so Emma's new dress was put on the list of clothes to pack. My type A personality shines when it comes to special occasions as I have to have all four of us matching. We all had yellow and black to match M&M, excluding Moose. I whipped up this tie from some of the leftover material of the dress. Literally....whipped it up the day before we left. Easiest sewing project ever!!! Only adjustments I'd make for next time is use more material that can hide the elastic neckband. Moose's head is rather oval and more elastic would make it easier as it just barely squeezes over his egg shaped head. I meant to take a picture of him in it, but here's the version before it was tied around the neckband.<br />
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Toddler Ties via Rebekah's <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163037915/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.vanillajoy.com/toddler-neck-tie-pattern.html" target="_blank">Vanilla Joy</a><br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nZVztYzOaiU/UdThzoibIgI/AAAAAAAAAkc/6SgzZlTWcMM/s1600/blogger-image-43680033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nZVztYzOaiU/UdThzoibIgI/AAAAAAAAAkc/6SgzZlTWcMM/s200/blogger-image-43680033.jpg" width="149" /></a>Second craft was a little present for the many teachers who are special to M&M. Found this idea on Pinterest and the schoolgirl had fun helping me paint and pot the flowers. We did the smaller sizes for the teachers and support staff that she sees less of and the big ones for the teachers she has all day. Also a fun and quick project. She did a great job with her name and heart on the back. She started out the year knowing the E in her name, progressed to a backwards spelling, and got it perfect by the end, among a few other things.<br />
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Thank You Pot via Rebekah's <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162693668/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.brendawritesablog.com/2012/04/michaels-20-off-entire-purchase.html" target="_blank">Brenda Writes A Blog</a><br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YC1uuTid_Ao/UdThxIAaoFI/AAAAAAAAAkU/BM6KWzpUvUQ/s640/blogger-image-592675342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YC1uuTid_Ao/UdThxIAaoFI/AAAAAAAAAkU/BM6KWzpUvUQ/s200/blogger-image-592675342.jpg" width="149" /></a>I had some cilantro that I wanted to cook with and I felt like shrimp would be really yummy with it. It was good, although nothing exceptional. The hubby would have liked a bit more sauce with the shrimp, and I was wanting the sauce to be creamier, rather than so overpoweringly lemony. That being said, I often find that we don't get enough of a sauce when doing oil based pasta's at home. I'd like to know how the restaurant's do it. </div>
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Cilantro Shrimp via Rebekah's <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163856946/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>...no recipe as the blog has been removed : (</div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VXhitOIcn0Y/UdTh1bCRvwI/AAAAAAAAAkk/4xfHMT_SqWQ/s640/blogger-image-2064302590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VXhitOIcn0Y/UdTh1bCRvwI/AAAAAAAAAkk/4xfHMT_SqWQ/s320/blogger-image-2064302590.jpg" width="239" /></a>I made several versions of these muffins last month and this month. They were delicious either way. The original recipe was Inside out carrot cake muffins. Instead of having cheese cream frosting like the cake version, you slipped the cream cheese inside for a yummy surprise. The first time I didn't have any carrots that I wanted to be rid of, but I did have some bananas that were on their way out, so I did a banana muffin with the cream cheese surprise. The second time I tried the original recipe and I'd say both versions were equally good. Being partial to banana bread myself...they might take the cake, so to speak. Instead of the giant sugar crystals on top, I used a mixture of brown sugar, butter, and flour. <br />
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Inside Out Carrot Cake Muffins via Rebekah's <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163299029/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.recipebyphoto.com/inside-out-carrot-cupcakes/" target="_blank">Recipie by Photo</a><br />
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Here's to more mornings of sleeping in!! Have a relaxing summer.</div>
<img height="96" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QzV9WUeWbz8/UdTh3baaM1I/AAAAAAAAAks/b8ln66fKivQ/s320/blogger-image-1752251296.jpg" style="left: 187.2px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 2035.6px;" width="71" /><img height="96" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YC1uuTid_Ao/UdThxIAaoFI/AAAAAAAAAkU/BM6KWzpUvUQ/s320/blogger-image-592675342.jpg" style="left: 600.8px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 848.8px;" width="71" />Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-83884607047537537352013-05-28T15:04:00.002-07:002013-05-28T15:04:23.178-07:00Green, Yeller, and Pink...How we celebrate John Deere style!Been a little quiet around here this month. On the blog that is, not in the household. I had a post on Mother's Day, but it felt a little too personal and raw still, so I haven't got the courage to publish it...maybe next year! In the meantime....May is what made me a mother (and my mom), so here's to our May Birthdays:<br />
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We celebrated M&M and Moose's birthday's (5 and 3) John Deere style this year. It was really fun to plan and I had lots of crazy ideas pinned <a href="http://pinterest.com/rebmarieryan/2013-birthdays/" target="_blank">here</a>. We certainly didn't get to all of them, but I did find my cake inspiration, <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163759396/" target="_blank">chili bar</a>, <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163760928/" target="_blank">chalkboard design</a>, and favour idea on Pinterest.<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3KuZEzZe8qg/UaUm042hU5I/AAAAAAAAAi0/JDbQNfigXw0/s640/blogger-image--1600888225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3KuZEzZe8qg/UaUm042hU5I/AAAAAAAAAi0/JDbQNfigXw0/s200/blogger-image--1600888225.jpg" width="200" /></a>For the chili bar we used three types of chili and a whole bunch of sides. I had planned on only two types, but as we got ready to plug the crockpots in and head out for church my husband decided we needed more food and he made the third batch of super spicy/peppery, which actually turned out a favorite. I also used this cilantro and lime chicken freezer meal I still had frozen (see <a href="http://me-transplantedamericaninthetruenorth.blogspot.ca/2013/03/mid-march-madness.html" target="_blank">this</a> post earlier) that I added some baked beans to in order to make it more chili-ish. It was my favorite, but then I'm not really a fan of chili. (I hate all beans, except refried which is why the only beans we use in any chili here are canned baked beans.) It's one of M&M's favorites tho, and it makes a great party food as the prep can be done hours before, leaving you time to run around at the last minute with the other things.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cEj40zJqUI4/UaUm9Fw5nqI/AAAAAAAAAjc/XpwGQFuDrA4/s640/blogger-image--142721150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cEj40zJqUI4/UaUm9Fw5nqI/AAAAAAAAAjc/XpwGQFuDrA4/s320/blogger-image--142721150.jpg" width="239" /></a>Our sides included cheese (Monterey Jack and Old Cheddar), tortilla chips (lime, multi-grain, and white corn) green onions, avocado, sour cream, corn, jalapenos, and pickled bell peppers. I also served corn-bread muffins, watermelon, and a friend brought a veggie platter with some yummy dill dip. <br />
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For drinks we threw ice in a bucket with pop and water, but I also made an Orange Julius drink recipe that turned out to be really easy and yummy. It was a staple of our Friday night pizza routine when I was a kid, so I was glad to rediscover it via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163681712/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>! We loaded up Tommy's John Deere tractor with some Rice Krispy hay bales, inspiration <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163377258/" target="_blank">here</a>. The wagon wasn't totally authentic; it was a hay wagon, but my bales were round and it was supposed to hold square. Details, details. <br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fiODUCfHFS4/UaUm4LwBRaI/AAAAAAAAAjE/dQLCYhS-IXc/s640/blogger-image--1653134392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fiODUCfHFS4/UaUm4LwBRaI/AAAAAAAAAjE/dQLCYhS-IXc/s320/blogger-image--1653134392.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_QGz7GMHlUA/UaUmxWVHlgI/AAAAAAAAAik/oH0R1tv0pf0/s640/blogger-image-2019914610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_QGz7GMHlUA/UaUmxWVHlgI/AAAAAAAAAik/oH0R1tv0pf0/s200/blogger-image-2019914610.jpg" width="149" /></a>Manda Cakes made another delicious and beautiful cake. I kept it simple this year, because I had trouble figuring out how I could possibly get a scene on the top of the cake that covered both tractors and horses without having multiple layers of cake or being too busy. I asked for random pink, green, and yellow circles. Turned out cute with the tractor on top. The inside was the most fun. Bright layers of pink, green, and yellow again. Our favorite John Deere colors! Pin that <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163373148/" target="_blank">here</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PeIN554fEVo/UaUm-hzzDJI/AAAAAAAAAjk/wBknQlhSLDU/s640/blogger-image--988843874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PeIN554fEVo/UaUm-hzzDJI/AAAAAAAAAjk/wBknQlhSLDU/s200/blogger-image--988843874.jpg" width="149" /></a>In order to entertain 10 crazy kids under 6 that were hyped on being together, I gave them pots and glitter glue. While we ate their designs dried. After cake we added some soil (I've got lots as we are in the midst of landscaping) and flower seeds. I haven't been watching Moose and M&M's, but their cousins said there's are already sprouting.<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bZHh8UYiTv4/UaUmzIMC3LI/AAAAAAAAAis/8eNcGfYBDd0/s640/blogger-image--347745823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bZHh8UYiTv4/UaUmzIMC3LI/AAAAAAAAAis/8eNcGfYBDd0/s200/blogger-image--347745823.jpg" width="149" /></a>We had lots of fun with family and friends. The farming fun will continue for awhile yet. Moose has lots of new tractors to play with and M&M's birthday is still to come. I've already booked a riding lesson from a nearby horse farm. Plus horse cupcakes with her class. I'm sure the horses will be another highlight. After the party she went out to her cousin's farm while they did chores. After coming home she just couldn't get over how lucky she was that day (not for the party, mind you), but because she got to go to the farm! <br />
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My display of the kiddos changes year by year! Where did my babies go?<br />
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Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-75578192913718369022013-04-29T11:26:00.004-07:002013-04-29T11:26:58.705-07:00Between the RaindropsI still can't believe April is almost through...or by the time I publish this post, totally done! Also, slightly depressed by the fact that we've either had RAIN, SNOW, or COLD sunny days! Hope May brings us more signs of spring! (Or we could just head straight into summer weather!) As I publish this, we finally had two georgus days! Makes me so excited for the weather next month.<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7Hyj1UE7aHU/UXsLlMJw23I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/GiCA4kpsAmE/s640/blogger-image-1627200469.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7Hyj1UE7aHU/UXsLlMJw23I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/GiCA4kpsAmE/s200/blogger-image-1627200469.jpg" width="149" /></a>I'll start out with my most exciting project, although I don't have any pins for it. I'm just excited because of this new niece I get to cuddle! Sad she will be so far away from us, but maybe it will get us visiting Belleville more. So last April we also welcomed a niece and since everyone was convinced it was a boy (I don't guess as I'm horrible and had the sex of both my babies opposite what they turned out to be) I had made a cute fleecy no-sew tie blanket. I went with green and cream fleece that said I Love Mommy! I love Daddy! I was soo bummed bringing it to the hospital because when I was picking out the fabric (pre-baby) they had the same stuff in the cutest pinks! Anyways, the blanket got used alot, and it was still super cuddly no matter the colour! <br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jGPL4xh_yX4/UXsLi0oXhdI/AAAAAAAAAgI/5W8hDNQxYqU/s640/blogger-image-43183218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jGPL4xh_yX4/UXsLi0oXhdI/AAAAAAAAAgI/5W8hDNQxYqU/s320/blogger-image-43183218.jpg" width="239" /></a>This time, knowing the sex of the baby and what colors Mommy was doing in the nursery made it irresistible when I saw some flannels in pink and gray while we were shopping in the US. I have never seen flannel no-sew blankets, but my Mother did raggedy quilts (edges are left out to fray) for M&M and Moose so I decided to give the flannel a whirl. So far it looks cute and based on how well my kids flannel quilts have held up, I think it will work even being washed often. The size was 42inches square with about 11/2-2 inch ties on all sides. At the last minute I cut out a B and sewed it on with my machine (mostly because it's so much fun to have a good machine and now easily accessible). Unfortunately the parents are keeping the name a surprise so I could only do the last name initial. So cozy...I just want to go find a baby to wrap it in!<br />
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Back to doing a bit more cooking from Pinterest. I made these no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars. They were supposed to be super healthy, but I didn't have any of the actual healthy ingredients so I ended up using normal stuff...veggie oil for coconut oil, regular peanut butter instead of natural, quick cooking pre-packaged breakfast oats, ect. I also don't like coconut or walnut so they were axed as well. So if you are like me and try to think minimally about how healthy or unhealthy the food in your cupboard is, leave out some of the sugar in this recipe. Normal peanut butter has sugar added and these were extremely sweet. I'm usually a failure at no-bake cookies, because you have to watch so closely how long they are on the stove for...not the case in this recipe and they turned out delicious, even with the extra sweet factor! Super easy too....took me all of 10 minutes to turn these babies into bars!<br />
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The Best No-Bake Bars via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163557786/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://ihearexercisewillkillyou.blogspot.ca/2013/02/the-best-no-bake-bars-youll-ever-eat.html" target="_blank">I Hear Exercise Will Kill You</a><br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Txf8NQTpSys/UXsLnFgqIsI/AAAAAAAAAgY/mYEtu_NWm3U/s640/blogger-image--1685913543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Txf8NQTpSys/UXsLnFgqIsI/AAAAAAAAAgY/mYEtu_NWm3U/s320/blogger-image--1685913543.jpg" width="239" /></a>For our last winter coffee hour with the girls I made this strawberry cheesecake. It was a little different than I expected and I think it was mainly due to the cake-like bottom crust. I pulled it out of the oven thinking it looked done, but the bottom layer was a little gooey. I couldn't tell if it was over mixed or not cooked properly. Sometimes as the head cook you are a little harder on your own food than if you were eating someone else's. I thought the recipe was okay but everyone else loved it.<br />
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Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163422767/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://joansfoodwanderings.blogspot.ca/2012/04/perfect-pairing-coffee-and-strawberry.html" target="_blank">Food Wanderings in Asia</a><br />
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I also made these wrapped meatballs as a side dish for our cheese tortellini one night. Basically halve a meatball, throw a chunk of mozza cheese beside it, and wrap both in a biscuit or crescent roll. They were fun to try and I think I would make them again. My only real complaint is really my own fault. Store-bought meatballs, while time-saving are just never quite the same as homemade. That being said, I'm not sure I would ever use homemade meatballs like this, because they are slightly time-consuming to make, cook, and then start with a whole new recipe. If it takes longer than 30 min to prep a meal (not including cooking), I'm not interested! M&M and Moose had a fun little surprise tho, when I got them to bite into their bun!<br />
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Meatball Stuffed Biscuits via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163457888/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.recipebyphoto.com/meatball-stuffed-biscuits/" target="_blank">Recipe by Photo</a> via <a href="http://menumusings.blogspot.ca/2011/12/meatball-stuffed-buns.html" target="_blank">Menu Musings of a Modern American Woman</a> <br />
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I think this about covers my picks for Pinterest in April. Looking forward to May! Not only am I determined to cuddle that new niece in some warmer weather, I've also started planning a John Deere party for M&M and Moose!<br />
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<br />Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-83849479929681123672013-04-16T12:09:00.001-07:002013-04-16T12:09:11.058-07:00Quick house projects.Post-party (to welcome the wee niece) blues...or maybe just the lazy woman blues. It always seems hard to get back to your normal routine when you get used to sitting on the couch, but we are trying our best....even went walking three weekdays in a row! Anyways, I haven't been cooking alot from Pinterest (hasn't slowed me down in the pinning department tho) so I thought I'd save what I have done for the end of the month. Which means I was post-less for my mid-month blog post.<br />
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Since a lot of you are interested in ye old mansion, I thought I'd show you a few projects that have gotten accomplished around here lately.<br />
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When my parents came up for the shower we put dad to work for a day before he made his escape from the country. His first project was to get the rest of my counter top installed in the bathroom. I still need to finish with a bit of pain and trim work to cover up how it had to be lifted on the second cupboard, but OH! how I love to have a place to fold and fill up with junk.<br />
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How does that happen so quick?! I've got the sewing machine out of the closet now and decided that the new counter is going to be it's semi-permanent home. Hopefully it will get me sewing more! In celebration of finally having a nice long bathroom counter top again, I let M&M pick out a new Beta for her fishbowl. Not sure how much the little guy likes it tho. I slammed the door to the washing machine the other day and he shot around the bowl about 3 times before he settled back to his normally calm self. And when the washing machine starts to shake, rattle, and roll, fishies' water gets a little wavy too. More like a natural environment I keep hoping, since we aren't usually too good with keeping our fishies around very long! Notice my little tiny clothes rod on the side I can dry hanging only clothes on now too!</div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2Mf_CbNiH88/UWRh58bhYBI/AAAAAAAAAeg/JbylG171yCw/s640/blogger-image-1992559805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2Mf_CbNiH88/UWRh58bhYBI/AAAAAAAAAeg/JbylG171yCw/s640/blogger-image-1992559805.jpg" /></a>Unfortunately, this project wasn't on the list, but it was bugging Dad just to look at it, so he did a bunch of maneuvering with the refrigerator and finally got it leveled. The cupboard above it also seemed to be sinking a little in the front so it needed some help too. Wish I would have gotten him to change the swing on my fridge and freezer doors, but I'm so used to getting tucked in the corner to open them that I completely forgot until I was looking at this picture!<br />
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Originally I had asked him to work on some of my missing counter tops (we didn't get all of the granite from the original kitchen), but he came up short with ordering butcherblock. We did have supplies for one of the odd spots, tho. Because this cupboard goes from floor to ceiling we only needed a very thin piece of counter top. Way back in the summer we found these granite tiles at Lowes or Home Depot that matched perfectly. One cut and a bit of glue and I now have a place to pull my stand mixer out to.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ytyA-xipRU0/UWWyoignuLI/AAAAAAAAAfo/Lil8bKihXAs/s640/blogger-image-1215942727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ytyA-xipRU0/UWWyoignuLI/AAAAAAAAAfo/Lil8bKihXAs/s200/blogger-image-1215942727.jpg" width="200" /></a>I'll need to do a bit of painting in black to the edges because they have an unfinished look, but I'm just loving how finished it looks compared to the old concept where you could see through to the drawers below!<br />
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A quick drill through the existing, but too small hole, in the counter top meant my soap dispenser also got installed!<br />
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Here's a project I got to with my mom while she was here. Took her opinion and finished it up after they were gone. I saw this idea on Pinterest for windows that were off centered. This window is only about half the size of my curtains. This means that about 1/4 of the curtain rod and curtain are actually covering wall to make the window seem centered and larger. The curtains were ones I had bought on clearance at Sears several years ago and actually hung in the window of our bedroom in the last house too. The curtain rod was one I got quite cheaply at JoAnn Fabrics on a super clearance deal too. Until I finally put them up I didn't realize their wasn't actually a rod holder (to attach the rod to the wall). I found some silver metal hold backs (to hold curtains back, not actually rods), at Canadian Tire and they do the trick just fine.</div>
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Another project partly finished is the bottom set of stairs are scraped and sanded and painted. I did them in the same Chesnut Pony from Benjamin Moore at Canadian Tire that I did the ceilings in downstairs. They are not a forever finished project, because I have a few nicked spots already and I'd really like barn board treads to give them an old-fashioned look. For now tho, it is a huge improvement, and at least look semi-clean following a vacuuming! I still have to finish the three stairs above the landing. Most days I just tell myself that it reminds me how awful they looked before my project.<br />
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Looking forward to getting outside and putting the hubby to work with some landscaping ideas, especially since the inside work doesn't seem to thrill him very much! If this cold weather would quit maybe our snow would melt and M&M could get her seeds planted.</div>
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<br />Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-33520376979229149772013-04-02T12:43:00.002-07:002013-04-02T12:43:23.713-07:00Pops and chevrons! Welcoming a new niece!!I've been looking forward to this party for some time now. I love all the organizing and planning and shopping that a party entails! When it comes to the actual work....well I try not to procrastinate but it does always seem like there are a million things to do at the last minute! So here's some of the prep I did ahead and then some pictures of the actual doo:<br />
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The first step in my party plans is always deciding on a theme. I knew my sister-in-law like chevrons and stripes (from <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/56295064063975933/" target="_blank">her pin</a> for the baby room), so I found a free printable graphic on the computer and began the invites using a hot pink chevron background with a oval in the middle for the details. Halfway through I decided the theme of the party was going to be popping, because the party is only about three weeks before the due date and those last few weeks it always seems like something's going to pop! I couldn't find a free pregnant belly graphic, so I went with some balloons that I specialized using the Paint program that comes with Microsoft. I know the back is really small, but it's a cute poem about bringing a book for Mom and Dad to read to baby and signing your name in that instead of a card. Really brilliant suggestion from the Mommy-to-be! Once they were printed off on cardstock, we were having a party!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8H7M5bxN9Hg/UVsptu7ZfbI/AAAAAAAAAcw/rYOV6tWZsCE/s640/blogger-image--673112661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8H7M5bxN9Hg/UVsptu7ZfbI/AAAAAAAAAcw/rYOV6tWZsCE/s200/blogger-image--673112661.jpg" width="149" /></a>At this stage I also booked my cake decorator <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Manda-Cakes/102584739909094" target="_blank">Manda Cakes</a>. She is often booked way ahead of schedule and never disappoints on whatever crazy possibility I manage to dream up, so I was happy to hear back that she was available! I didn't let her know about the design for at least a month, because I couldn't decide on what to do. I liked these ruffled cakes I'd seen on Pinterest, but I really wanted to get the theme in there, so I was torn. (Yes about a cake that we are usually too stuffed to eat once it hits that time of the party anyways.). I finally decided to go for a pink gradient (darker pink to lighter) side with the "pops" of pink on top. I think I tried to throw a few other things into the design in my original plans, but listened to her expert advice and as always it turned out beautiful (and yummy too)!<br />
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I had several projects in mind I wanted to make for the new wee baby. Of course, I didn't get to quite all of them. You can check out my pinterest board <a href="http://pinterest.com/rebmarieryan/i-m-going-to-be-an-aunt-again/" target="_blank">here</a> for all the ideas I liked while planning this shower.<br />
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I made some of those cute month by month onsies for baby girl to wear when her momma snaps a shot for us of how much she's growing. I say have to admit I only half- accomplished the project because I decided that I would make onsies up to four months and then see what the actual growth was like. M&M for instance was always right on the sizes for each month, but Moose was in 12month onsies at 6mo and then managed to only grow in the legs for the next year. <br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Df2ognGo_to/UVC5lCWzL-I/AAAAAAAAAcA/n6T0_VyRK7I/s640/blogger-image--1292862736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Df2ognGo_to/UVC5lCWzL-I/AAAAAAAAAcA/n6T0_VyRK7I/s200/blogger-image--1292862736.jpg" width="149" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2Fd3XOjkSBc/UVC5mrLIpVI/AAAAAAAAAcI/oICUio6AkFY/s640/blogger-image--1746467449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2Fd3XOjkSBc/UVC5mrLIpVI/AAAAAAAAAcI/oICUio6AkFY/s320/blogger-image--1746467449.jpg" width="239" /></a>For this project I used the same free pink chevron template that I found for the invites, added a circle and a month in my word processing program, and printed out four month bubbles onto one page of iron-on transfer paper (use the mirror image setting). I used my cricut (yes i took a picture of the practice circle that turned out perfect so i had a reference when cutting the good copies) to cut the squares down into circles and then ironed the images on to some onsies I had picked up. I had a bit of trouble with a not very clear graphic the first shot, but found that letting the paper totally cool before ripping off the backing so my images gave them the nice shiny finish. I was worried about the ironing stage and put it off for several weeks, but this step was far less time consuming then the actual design of the image!<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cxuNA_1vIY8/UVspwurHo5I/AAAAAAAAAdA/nIyB4TNMKaY/s640/blogger-image--730514647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-cxuNA_1vIY8/UVspwurHo5I/AAAAAAAAAdA/nIyB4TNMKaY/s200/blogger-image--730514647.jpg" width="149" /></a>I'm terrible with shower games and Pinterest is wonderful for getting new ideas from. We ended up, after many discussions during our long car rides to sudbury for doctors visits, with a game about daddy from <a href="http://blog.paper-source.com/parties/a-baby-shower-game-honoring-dad/" target="_blank">here</a>. It was fun as daddy got a little goofy. Q: how many diapers will baby need a day? A. Mommy 10, daddy-1. We also did <a href="http://www.tipjunkie.com/all-crafts/printable-baby-shower-games/" target="_blank">this Nursery Rhyme</a> game. The Price is Right for baby items from <a href="http://www.plan-the-perfect-baby-shower.com/price-is-right-baby-shower-game.html" target="_blank">here</a> and an Old Wives Tale game from <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/289637819755523190/" target="_blank">here</a>. All proved prize winning! I had a cute pin the baby on the pregnant lady game for my kids and their cousins to play, but when the cousins were all sick we decided to skip it.<br />
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My second project I finally got inspired to start three days pre-party. I had to get my sewing machine out of the bottom of our catch-all closet and with my no lifting rule I'd kept putting it off. I was really breaking rules that day with moving tubs of clothes and pushing furniture around the house, so I went for broke! The project turned out super cute and I felt a bit stretched by the days end, but it just gave me a good excuse to have to go grocery shopping without the kidlets next day.<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-saTZPoXj0hI/UVsp-ofcbOI/AAAAAAAAAeI/psUnXtSdlTo/s640/blogger-image--486888092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-saTZPoXj0hI/UVsp-ofcbOI/AAAAAAAAAeI/psUnXtSdlTo/s320/blogger-image--486888092.jpg" width="239" /></a>So this project was to take a onsie (I used a long sleeve shirt I picked up at Walmart on clearance, but decided after a onsie would have been better because it wouldn't bunch like the shirt might when the wee one wears the outfit) and add a skirt to the bottom to make a sleep sack. I threw a few embellishments on for some details and to cover up some of my less than stellar sewing skills. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/105225547/baby-girl-onesie-dress-baby-girl-dress?ref=sr_gallery_35&ga_search_query=chevron&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade" target="_blank">Here</a> is the inspiration and since its Etsy you can purchase it! I just loved the chevron material she used, but couldn't find any chevrons in Sudbury when I went looking for material (I bought it the same time as my table tent material from here...procrastinate much?!). Thanks to the advice during coffee hour that got me finally going and finishing it! <br />
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I love the dollar store for craft and party supplies and with my being stuck so close to home the last month I depended solely on our rather limited shopping there. I got all the plates (pink), cutlery (pink), napkins (pink), cups (clear with pink straws), and tablecloths (yes, pink) to hide my missing countertops that need finishing. I also bought a bunch of tissue paper, light pink, dark pink, and silvery to make paper poms out of. I made them last year for my other sister-in-laws baby shower and so I don't have a link on Pinterest but I'm sure you can find one. The small ones turned out the cutest and I prepped them five days ahead and then managed to keep Moose from using them as baseballs all week. I think M&M has already claimed them for their room.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-49g2sB5Aev4/UVsp2v81jMI/AAAAAAAAAdg/7Vw6-lcZnNY/s640/blogger-image-2121726011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-49g2sB5Aev4/UVsp2v81jMI/AAAAAAAAAdg/7Vw6-lcZnNY/s200/blogger-image-2121726011.jpg" width="200" /></a>I also prepped a lot of the food ahead of time so that I wasn't madly baking the day of. I made carmel corn and carmel marshmallows and lemon poppyseed muffins the day before. Although M&M had the day off school, it turned out to be less hectic than I thought and she was a big help. While Moose was sleeping we cleaned and baked, in between our marathon of Little House on Silver Lake. After reading a chapter we'd either go clean or bake something and it kept M&M motivated and me from getting too tired all at once. <br />
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Day of left us (my mom arrived from Michigan to help) with some last minute cleaning, a bit of decorating, present wrapping, since I had sent my online shopping to her place to save some shopping fees, and laying out the food. I used the onsies for a centerpiece decoration on the piano, which was the gathering spot for presents. You can also see the smaller white tissue poms.<br />
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In addition to our POP food (lemon POPpyseed muffins, 3 kinds of POPcorn, and Snap, Crackle, POP marshmellows) we did a simple yogurt bar with granola and several mixes of frozen fruit.<br />
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Lemon Poppyseed Muffins from <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163496146/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.pickycook.com/breakfastandbrunch/lemonpoppyseedmuffinswithlemonglaze.aspx" target="_blank">Picky Cook</a>.<br />
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Marshmellows from <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163458475/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Caramel-Marshmallow-Treats" target="_blank">Taste of Home</a>.<br />
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And the dessert table with lots of POP candy and some white-chocolate covered rasberries from Costco that are really delicious half frozen! And this is an up-close of the diaper boquet on the back of the dessert table.<br />
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Diaper Boquet from <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163161375/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.pearlsofwit.com/2011/02/weekended.html" target="_blank">Pearls of Wit</a>.<br />
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I didn't snap a picture of the entrance table, but this was sitting on it. It also had thank-you notes and envelopes so that guests could write their addresses on the envelopes and make it easy for the new Mommy to get those thank-you notes sent sometime within the first year!<br />
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With lots of help and ideas from friends and pinterest the party was a success!</div>
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Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-27444678621297031432013-03-14T13:12:00.001-07:002013-03-16T18:11:11.888-07:00Mid march madnessI thought with March break being here we would finally have a relaxing vacation from our busy schedules and get the time to try out some of those fun pins I've been saving for a day with more time. Instead we got a little blind-sided by life and Mommy is stuck on the couch recovering. (I might get to that in a few months when it isn't quite so fresh and raw.) Super thankful for all the friends and family that have showered us with meals and time and love! And for my two beautiful babes and hubby who are so glad to have their chief cook and homemaker back at home, even when she's not doing a whole lot of either.<br />
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I thought I'd do a quick post to cover some recipes that were overlooked in my previous months. On then to crescent rolls. There are so many recipes out there with this as a starting base.<br />
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I've always been a fan of crescent rolls. Growing up with homemade everything any kind of store brought bread made the meal. And those light buttery triangles....mmmm childhood memories.<br />
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A few staples my Mom used growing up, were crescent cream cheese bars and pigs in a blanket. Now, of course you can buy premade and perfectly sized dough to wrap your sausages in their blankies, but back when I was growing up....<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-nxG-Dj_njF4/UUIoAdhkESI/AAAAAAAAAbI/Ew1N_bGYCvo/s640/blogger-image--849855697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-nxG-Dj_njF4/UUIoAdhkESI/AAAAAAAAAbI/Ew1N_bGYCvo/s200/blogger-image--849855697.jpg" width="149" /></a>Crescent cream cheese bars are a layer of unrolled crescents (1package), 2 packages cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla creamed as a middle layer, and topped with a second package of unrolled crescent. This is followed by an egg white brushed over the final layer and cinnamon-sugar to get that nice crunchy goodness. Soo good...(I was literally starving when I wrote this part of the post).<br />
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My staples as a busy mom are certainly those I grew up with, but we often dress up plain crescents with cheese stuffed in the inside for a quick side to soup. Tasty when fresh and warm from the oven and good if cold for lunches too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0gkujYFql8U/UUIoBh_YXKI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/dHEL1suj3iA/s640/blogger-image-562538912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0gkujYFql8U/UUIoBh_YXKI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/dHEL1suj3iA/s320/blogger-image-562538912.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yzzreuAx2B0/UUIoDEhMCVI/AAAAAAAAAbY/UW0mmCak0P0/s640/blogger-image--849560788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yzzreuAx2B0/UUIoDEhMCVI/AAAAAAAAAbY/UW0mmCak0P0/s320/blogger-image--849560788.jpg" width="239" /></a>With a couple of crazy weeks at the end of last month I hadn't been able to bake with the M&M and Moose in awhile so we decided to do a batch of cookies together on the first of the month. (Unfortunately our spree also ended there, but sometimes that's the way you have to roll) I thought these cream cheese chocolate chip cookies would be a normal dough cookie with the extra cream cheese ingredient. Instead the recipe calls for a layer of crescent rolls, sweet cream cheese mixture, followed by a layer of chocolate chips. Then the dough was rolled and cut pinwheel fashion. Super quick, fun for the kids to help with and definitely yummy!<br />
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Another recipe I used from Pinterest was a sausage gravy casserole. Sausage biscuits and gravy are one of the southern US staples that us northerners have latched on to. I'm not so sure the wave ever hit Canada, because I've had to introduce and explain them to A LOT of Canadians. So basically the recipe is flaky biscuits topped with a gravy (strictly milk thinkended with flour and salt/pepper to taste) loaded with breakfast sausage. Ideally a hearty breakfast dish, but also something quick that can be thrown together. When I saw the crescent dough take, I thought, "great way to prepare ahead of time and heat and serve later."<br />
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With the crescent dough version, you layer crescents on the bottom, sausage gravy and more unrolled crescents. My only issue was the bottom layer was a little gooey whereas the top was quite crispy. Next time I plan on throwing the bottom layer of crescents in for five minutes before I add the gravy and last layer of crescents. The pin I used called for cream cheese which I tried, but wasn't sure I like the addition and a few different ways to do the casserole top.<br />
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Sausage Gravy Casserole via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163083957/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.4theloveoffoodblog.com/2013/01/biscuit-and-sausage-peppered-gravy.html" target="_blank">For the Love of Food</a><br />
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I know there are a lot of other recipes using crescent dough out there. My mother-in-law has an apple dumpling recipe that is raved about. Something to do with sprite, cinnamon, sugar, and crescents wrapped around the individual apples. A friend has a take on this that includes cream cheese somewhere in that mix. Lots of yum! Won't speak to the health aspect, but when one is short on time crescent roll dough is awesome for everything from a quick side to a main dish to dessert! <br />
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Still can't believe it is mid-March already! Excited to get up and moving and finish the planning for my sister-in-law's fantastic baby shower (okay maybe it will only be fantastic in my head, but I've had some dreaming time lately). I had my mother make us up some of these crock pot freezer meals before she headed south yesterday and I have to say the chicken cacciatore that is bubbling away in the crock pot is smelling great! Check out that pin below. This sight was especially good because it had a grocery list included with the recipes, which was especially helpful as it was also my mother I had to send off to do the shopping. I was amazed by how much less she spent than I usually do. I guess that's a lesson in sticking strictly to the list and not buying any extras!<br />
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Slow Cooker Freezer Meals via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163411461/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-make-8-meals.html" target="_blank">Six Sister's Stuff</a><br />
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Aren't my leprechauns cute?<br />
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<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6jj0hu3Qhug/UUUWsR-P9II/AAAAAAAAAbw/GqbxauxA0pI/s640/blogger-image-1128059570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6jj0hu3Qhug/UUUWsR-P9II/AAAAAAAAAbw/GqbxauxA0pI/s640/blogger-image-1128059570.jpg" /></a></div>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-26386118549280000552013-02-28T17:29:00.008-08:002013-02-28T17:29:54.041-08:00The shortest month of the year! Pinterest in Feb. part 2.Thought I'd get the rest of our Pinterest content for February updated while we are all taking it easy for a couple of days.<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6l-qW_srCRE/US-2dqPo2sI/AAAAAAAAAZs/OfuBTxb71Rk/s640/blogger-image--960387521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6l-qW_srCRE/US-2dqPo2sI/AAAAAAAAAZs/OfuBTxb71Rk/s200/blogger-image--960387521.jpg" width="200" /></a>We started off the month by making this bathtub paint for the kiddos. They enjoyed using it for the one night it lasted but the consistency is definitely different than the stuff I've bought before. That being said, this project was a whole lot cheaper too! <br />
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Bathtub paint via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163146992/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://teamdischinger.blogspot.ca/2012/01/bathtub-paint.html" target="_blank">Team Dischinger</a><br />
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I love that you can pin your own photos to Pinterest too. So rather than searching through the 600 odd photos my phone will hold I can keep ideas and recipes that I'd like to try later in their own labeled folders. (Can't tell I love to organize much?). So my first Pinterest recipe I tried in February was actually a recipe I found in a magazine at the library.<br />
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Johnny cakes are described as an old fashioned, cornmeal version of a pancake. Very similar in texture and taste to cornbread, but fried over the stove in butter, not baked. It was a good recipe to try, but doubt I will make them again as cornbread is quicker. I wasn't enjoying that yout have to stand over the stove flipping cakes as the fry when the oven accomplishes it all for you. We ate these with syrup, butter, and bacon, but they also accompanied chili quite well the following day.<br />
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Johnny cakes via Rebekah's Pinterest (but I deleted the pin because I won't be trying them again) via Canadian living.<br />
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You can find the table tent project <a href="http://me-transplantedamericaninthetruenorth.blogspot.ca/2013/02/sew-what.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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All our Valentine celebrations and projects are <a href="http://me-transplantedamericaninthetruenorth.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">here</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S1TbQlRmaEA/US-2gfyqukI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/-qc-HzxNy4s/s640/blogger-image-506567378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S1TbQlRmaEA/US-2gfyqukI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/-qc-HzxNy4s/s200/blogger-image-506567378.jpg" width="149" /></a>Don't these roasted tomatoes took delicious? I used them in this recipe for a quick dish to share when we were invited to some friends house for dinner. I didn't have all the right cheeses so I used some monetary jack, and cheddar in place of the provolone. I also used mozzarella cheese sticks rather than grated mozzarella and it gave the dip a nice gooey texture because the cheese sticks don't completely melt. We accompanied the duo with taco chips and Club's butter crackers I brought back especially from the states. I voted for the crackers.<br />
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White Pizza via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162347065/" target="_blank">Rebekahs Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/07/white-pizza-dip/" target="_blank">How Sweet it is</a><br />
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My sister-in-laws shower is approaching at the end of next month. Didn't the invitations turn out nice? I'd have liked a nice popping pregnant lady graphic but lacking the necessary design tools I went with a simple balloon instead. And the saying on the back was found on the Internet... But book lover that I am I just loved this idea that was brought forward by the expecting Mommy! Emma lived helping out the cards in the envelopes and I didn't have to do any of the sealing!<br />
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Our last recipe for the month was this delicious strawberry layer cake. Definitely check out this website. I love her picture of the inside of the cake. All those layers of strawberries and cheesecake frosting. Would be an awesome summer picnic dessert! I halved this recipe and divided my cake into three layers and it was more than enough for the eight we had at Sunday dinner. Brad and Emma took it all week in their lunches, too. My little mess maker cracked half the eggs on the counter but she loves to help so I have to try to be encouraging, which sometimes feels like a feat in itself. <br />
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Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Frosting via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163286062/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.perrysplate.com/2009/05/vanilla-cake-with-strawberry-cream-frosting.html" target="_blank">Perry's Plate</a><br />
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We all survived another long, but short dark month and the sun only climbs from here so on to March we go! Or on to march we march!?<br />
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Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-52009231648626431782013-02-26T14:36:00.002-08:002013-02-26T14:36:35.817-08:00We love to party!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We are not big partiers, in the sense of going out and getting falling-down drunk and doing crazy stunts with friends. Okay, or at all, but oh do our kids love to have a party! There is actually a running joke at school about Emma's parties already. She invites all the teachers to her house for her big party after school on at least a weekly basis(meanwhile there is absolutely no party happening).<br />
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Valentines Day seemed like as good an excuse as any to have a little bash. My sister in law had a cousin of hers and my hubby's visiting from Vancouver so it was nice to get everyone in the immediate family together and V-day provided the perfect excuse! <br />
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Since I had to work all day Thursday Moose and I did a lot of the prepping on Wednesday. M&M put her decorating skills to good use when she got home from school. We (the executive here the kitchen is namely me, but we sounds more democratic) decided on pizza, salad, and <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163224037/" target="_blank">fruity red drinks</a> followed by chocolate covered pretzel sticks and chocolate sugar cookies.<br />
Of course we had to dress it up a little by making all things hearts: heart pepperonis, XO bacon, the kids had individual heart pizzas, heart cookies, and lots of heart shaped sprinkles. <br />
Plus it's always a fun excuse for presents so I picked a few treats up when I was in Sudbury, plus threw in some books I had ordered from Scholastic. <br />
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V_Rq2M975Og/US0t49H4-vI/AAAAAAAAAXY/U0ZEUhNVptw/s640/blogger-image--650388779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V_Rq2M975Og/US0t49H4-vI/AAAAAAAAAXY/U0ZEUhNVptw/s200/blogger-image--650388779.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Fruity Red Drinks via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163224037/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://www.delightfully-tacky.com/2012/03/raspberry-lemonade-smoothies.html" target="_blank">Delightfully Tacky</a><br />
Chocolate Sugar Cookies (and tons of other fun V-day foods) via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163219211/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://workmanfamily.typepad.com/our_life/valentines-day/" target="_blank">Workman Family</a><br />
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We (okay that's me again) also had fun with a project for the kiddos to give daddy as a present: a rack for his ties that has the saying "Daddy's love ties us together." I originally saw the sign on Etsy (that link has since disappeared) via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468161571200/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> but wasn't willing to fork out the cash to purchase it. I found the back board at Michaels for 12$. Got sucked into buying some letters that I only used for the word ties, (but there is lots leftover) at 8$, and found the knobs at Walmart for about 10$. I had the craft paint on hand. <br />
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0Ostz_4AvRg/US0tsY-_-kI/AAAAAAAAAWo/bCri477oEzQ/s640/blogger-image--839238806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0Ostz_4AvRg/US0tsY-_-kI/AAAAAAAAAWo/bCri477oEzQ/s200/blogger-image--839238806.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_wvKlYDMH-o/US0t3M6rfyI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/zkVFRIaUkw4/s640/blogger-image--980052768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_wvKlYDMH-o/US0t3M6rfyI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/zkVFRIaUkw4/s200/blogger-image--980052768.jpg" width="149" /></a>I really debated on whether to use paint or stain, but sealed the deal when I couldn't find the stain I'd used on the shelf in Moose an M&M's room anywhere. First step was to get the knobs onto the board. I used eight of the ten knobs set at equal distances apart. This would be super easy if we owned a nice hand drill for finicky work, but ours is a big monstrosity that refused to work at speeds under mach 1. The second problem was that the screws that came with the knobs had flat ends.<br />
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I solved both problems by grabbing a deck screw and screwdriver and "pre-drilling" with the deck screw. The hole still wasn't always quite big enough to get the cabinet screw with the flat end started, but the screwdriver was an easy tool to ream the hole out enough larger. I was really proud of myself for how well this turned out!<br />
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Next I decided to paint the edges brown so it would give the board an old fashioned whitewash look when covered in just enough cream paint that some of the brown still pops through. Lastly I arranged letters several ways and found that I could only use my purchased letters for ties. The rest I stencilled. I had even more trouble painting this with my stencils than the last project of our family dates, maybe they are getting too worn being only cheap plastic scrapbook ones. Anyways eventually got them all somewhat perfected and then outlined them in gold with a metallic marker. <br />
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Okay I'm actually inordinately proud of this project! And I have to say I love Etsy (Pinterest too) for design inspiration!!<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-juS5QEZ0iRc/US0tyGD3WXI/AAAAAAAAAW4/EoIkSBoaL1w/s640/blogger-image-1237616052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-juS5QEZ0iRc/US0tyGD3WXI/AAAAAAAAAW4/EoIkSBoaL1w/s320/blogger-image-1237616052.jpg" width="239" /></a>Our only other projects were a couple of quick ones for Valentines Day at school. For Emma's classroom, as Valentine's, we put together an idea from pinterest. I found these cute candy bags with hearts on them at Walmart as well as loopy straws with hearts as the loops. The "card" on top said: "Valentine, you make me loopy." Cute and much better than more candy or a card that parents want to throw in the garbage as soon as it comes in the door (because they end up scattered all over the house) and only slightly more time consuming than addressing 20 cards.<br />
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Loopy Straw's via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162980156/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> <br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NBhfO0kfpm0/US0tzpxNZ8I/AAAAAAAAAXA/HoCt9FpyqW0/s640/blogger-image--1280803309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NBhfO0kfpm0/US0tzpxNZ8I/AAAAAAAAAXA/HoCt9FpyqW0/s200/blogger-image--1280803309.jpg" width="149" /></a>For the teachers (didn't think they'd want a loopy straw!) we made fruit explosion muffins in heart shaped tins. Luckily M&M's party was the day after V-day so I snuck in some baking the next morning. The muffin recipe came from Pinterest. I basically used the Sparkling Jumbo Muffins and added some bananas (mashed 'em and added at the same time as the milk and eggs) and strawberries. Unfortunately I didn't have any of the sugar crystal so mine are not nearly as pretty as hers, but super puffy and delicious!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zgCKZgZzzbw/US04D9o5O-I/AAAAAAAAAYE/SFykOdNUECo/s1600/SAM_1307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zgCKZgZzzbw/US04D9o5O-I/AAAAAAAAAYE/SFykOdNUECo/s200/SAM_1307.JPG" width="200" /></a>Muffins via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163213138/" target="_blank">Rebekah's Pinterest</a> via <a href="http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/01/07/sparkling-jumbo-blueberry-muffins-2/" target="_blank">Sally's Baking Addiction</a><br />
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Plus I got my favourites: yellow roses am blue hydrangeas! Aren't the beautiful. I think they might be inspiration for my garden planning in a few months! Well be starting from scratch so I'm a little overwhelmed with where to even start. And my kiddies: Aren't they the sweetest Valentines ever?<br />
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<br />Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-35679761045545801282013-02-11T12:54:00.002-08:002013-02-11T12:57:15.363-08:00Sew what?!I finally got the sewing machine back out. This is actually kind of a major task, because although it is in plain sight in the downstairs closet, it fits best underneath a tote of coats and stuck behind several folding chairs plus a 8 drawer organizer, all of which have to be moved in order to get the sewing machine out. So obviously I have to be more than a little inspired in order to do all that work before I can even begin a project.<br />
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I've had some projects pinned to Pinterest (where else?) for some time. While I was in the big city last week I stopped into Fabric Land to pick up some things I needed for my sister-in-law's shower at the end of March. I also browsed the clearance section and found this semi-heavy duty, albeit boring cloth that I though would hold up great for a table tent. At 3.00 per metre, I bought 5 metres. I had plenty for the tent and hopefully a longer lasting creation than those plastic sticks and nylon material that you pay at least $15 for. <br />
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Saturday it was only Emma and I home in the morning so I decided it was a good time to make an attempt. Originally the plan was to follow the directions from this pin. However the link proved to be dead so I figured without eating up all my toddlerless time in further research to just forge ahead directionless. I ended up laying my 5metres of fabric across the table lengthwise. Leaving a little extra on the floor at both the head and foot of the table I cut off the extra. Next I cut out two side panels. (You could also do five panels to have a more professional looking finish, but I figured with my abilities, the top would end up having a too short side or some other ridiculousness so I decided to go with only three panels.)<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qrpb7UZlmAs/URlCdHqzymI/AAAAAAAAAVU/h4tSZRTQHlg/s640/blogger-image--777547915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qrpb7UZlmAs/URlCdHqzymI/AAAAAAAAAVU/h4tSZRTQHlg/s320/blogger-image--777547915.jpg" width="320" /></a>M&M wanted to have a door on the long side of the table with one circle window and one square one. The easiest way to cut out a rectangle is to fold the fabric wherever you would like the middle of your window to be and then cut a smaller rectangle so that when you unfold the material you have said rectangular window.<br />
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I really wanted to do cross panels for panes in the windows, so I figured the best way to be able to attach them would be to add material on the back of the window. So seams out I sewed four strips of material on the window and then flipped them out and sewed them up the back. This got really tricky and ended up not at all like I wanted.<br />
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The material made a neat outer hem, but added a lot of bulk and the window sags a fair amount. I'd gotten kind of sick of working on that side of the tent so I decided to start on the other side instead of going at the cross pieces for window panes.<br />
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For the door I cut a slit up the side of the fabric and then pinned two chunks of fabric seam side out so that there would also be a nice finished seam on the outside. My first attempt I stopped at the top and did some funky manoeuvring to try to get the two pieces back together. My second attempt due to another mistake I started at the bottom and just sewed one seam all the way up one side, across a little at the top and back down the other side. It was much neater on the inside, but both ways looked good from outside.<br />
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Door from the outside.<br />
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For the circular window I again folded the fabric in half and cut a half-circle out and unfolded to an imperfect oval. I ended up snipping a few bits and pieces and came out with a much better looking circle.<br />
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For the seam on this one I thought I would try pinning a seam by rolling the fabric under itself. This worked much better and was far less bulky than the rectangular window.<br />
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Next step was to sew on the two long side panels. For this step I pinned the two sides of the panel together where they would fall over the legs of the panel. The longer panel that ran the entire length of the table continued when I had reached the top of the shorter panels so I pinned the next side of the panel into the never ending panel and surprisingly the corners turned out not too bad. The step had to be repeated once more when the length (of the table) was reached and you continued down the far leg. <br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K8M4xoWgpIM/URlCb-K2owI/AAAAAAAAAVM/9NLEp8ucN8Q/s640/blogger-image--1742057191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K8M4xoWgpIM/URlCb-K2owI/AAAAAAAAAVM/9NLEp8ucN8Q/s320/blogger-image--1742057191.jpg" width="320" /></a>At this stage I thought I was pretty much set. As I finished up the last bit I realized something was wrong. The first panel went on fine and there was about 2 inches of extra material because in the very beginning I had left a bit extra on either end. I assumed I'd cut it off once I finsihed getting the second panel on.</div>
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As the second panel came together I realized there was a lot more extra appearing on the skinny end of the table. I had grabbed some extra material rather than the matching panel and sewed my door and window into that. They were similar in size but not perfect! On the far side the panel comes together okay, but on the closer end the corner is really off and the table leg was showing. Knowing I still had to put a bottom seam around the entire tent I decided to start over and use the correct panel. </div>
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I'm glad I did, even though the hubby kept saying it was fine, just leave it.</div>
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The other issue I was having was I had left too much extra hanging across the top of the table and correspondingly </div>
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I'm still undecided if I'm going to add flowers and curtains and those cutsey details with more material or if I will just get a pack of fabric markers and let M&M go at it. I promise an update when we decide!</div>
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Fun project for Momma that Emma's been very possessive of! Once we can get the sharing idea sunk into those two heads it should provide hours of fun and a quick cleanup. (Much quicker than blankets that refuse to stay in place anyways.) </div>
Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-68154307473719604112013-01-31T11:04:00.002-08:002013-01-31T11:18:44.913-08:00JanuarySometimes I wonder if half my Pinterest fails are because I don't really follow the directions to the letter....Okay, okay...maybe half of life's fails can be attributed to this particular trait. But then again what letters are we supposed to follow? Your letters or recipes or directions certainly aren't going to work exactly right for me and mine for you. It's pretty much one of those learn as you go things combined with do what seems good at the time for your family. Which I obviously follow maybe a little too closely when it come to cooking. In the grander scheme of things, yes I believe there's a higher plan to follow but even when two people believe the same thing we know that plan isn't going to work out the same in both our lives. So obvious disclaimer here is these are totally my opinions and you might see the same Pinterest pin and have it work great for you while I flop it.<br />
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Back to January's pins. I don't think we had any huge flops, but nothing really turned out the way I expected it too either. My tastes were good in the choosing but I'd personally tweek some if these pins if you want to check them out for yourself.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S3NvkP0s0ow/UQgb5f9xTKI/AAAAAAAAAUI/4bjg-whwfV4/s640/blogger-image--638027537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S3NvkP0s0ow/UQgb5f9xTKI/AAAAAAAAAUI/4bjg-whwfV4/s320/blogger-image--638027537.jpg" width="239" /></a>Take the <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163069603/" target="_blank">Crock Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup</a> I made in the middle of the month. I love creamy potatoes and my kids hate the ideas of onions, so I loved that this pin used the blender to both mask the texture and look of the onion and satisfied my creamy factor, especially when you added cream cheese after simmering the potatoes and chicken broth all afternoon. Here's the part where I tell you how I didn't really follow the recipe...I didn't actually check out how many grams=ounces so I ended up having about 50 grams or 2 ounces too much cream cheese. I just thought it ended up tasting like WAY too much cream cheese. So even tho I used more then the recipe called for, it wasn't that much more and I think next time I'd only use one package of cheese more potatoes so you'd end up with the same creamy result but not such an overpoweringly rich soup. Richness might be great if you are serving it in small portions as an appetizer but is not so hot as a main course dish. (And how often do you actually have soup as an appetizer except when you are out dining fancy, which around here is a very rare occurrence. ). Anyways, good idea but beware the cream cheese. Everything else was super quick and easy to throw together and Moose and M&M loved adding the cheese, bacon, and sour cream toppings and mixing them into their individual bowls.<br />
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**The hubby got home really late the night we had this soup and just ended up eating some chili leftovers, so I felt safe to remake this soup for our family dinner Sunday. I added more chicken broth, and some mashed potatoes and put the bacon right in our leftovers and it was MUCH better. There was just a hint of the richness and since I had cooked a ham as the main dish it went great as a side.<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-F60GdaVoaw8/UQgb_9xwz4I/AAAAAAAAAUo/azd8-kICs9s/s640/blogger-image-1779259985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-F60GdaVoaw8/UQgb_9xwz4I/AAAAAAAAAUo/azd8-kICs9s/s200/blogger-image-1779259985.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kN0GKDQ6hWI/UQgbx2uiDnI/AAAAAAAAATY/Y6H-FYy2W70/s640/blogger-image--881909745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kN0GKDQ6hWI/UQgbx2uiDnI/AAAAAAAAATY/Y6H-FYy2W70/s200/blogger-image--881909745.jpg" width="149" /></a>Same night as the original potato soup, I made <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162620653/" target="_blank">Biscuit Bombs</a> which are basically just cheesy Pillsbury biscuits. I thought they were fairly impressive and better than my usual standby of crescents and cheese because the cheese did a better job staying in these rolls, plus the added seasonings on top were a plus. There again though I had ran out of parm cheese which prob would have made the biscuits a lot better and maybe even company worthy rather than a last minute side for my too-rich soup!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cplNBo9RmEE/UQgb1dzd-4I/AAAAAAAAATw/MLwzB8HejRU/s640/blogger-image-477340685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cplNBo9RmEE/UQgb1dzd-4I/AAAAAAAAATw/MLwzB8HejRU/s320/blogger-image-477340685.jpg" width="238" /></a>I also made a couple batches of cookie pins I found on Pinterest. We must have been into cream cheese this month because both cookie recipes used cream cheese too. First came the Pea<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468163008056/" target="_blank">nut Butter Cheesecake Cookies</a> that called for a boxed mix of cream cheese pudding. Didn't have it so I just used plain old cream cheese and the result was the cookies weren't really that much different than normal. I dipped them in choco tho like the recipe called for, something I've never done with peanut butter cookies and we all really like that. Next time I'm going to try to actually use the pudding mix, that is if I can find such a thing. This recipe more than likely came from the states and it can be hard to find the exact same things here. Like breakfast sausage in a tube....never buy it in Northern Ontario. They use bread crumbs as a filler and it is disgustingly gross! Back to the cookies:<br />
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Cookie(s) number two were <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162739416/" target="_blank">Oreo Cream Cheese Cookies</a> and, surprisingly, the hubby really liked them. He hates cream cheese and I love it so I'm always trying to mask it in other things. Everyone seemed to really like the cookies but I'd make sure to use mini chips like the recipe calls for because using the normal chips (to me) made them taste like a glorified chocolate chip cookie and I'm not sure why because they are really totally different. Have a tall glass of milk handy if you want to make either of these cookies, it's a must!<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-riJcvr9ZRfA/UQgbzKXM-rI/AAAAAAAAATg/-z6cbZsnaxM/s640/blogger-image--646866613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-riJcvr9ZRfA/UQgbzKXM-rI/AAAAAAAAATg/-z6cbZsnaxM/s200/blogger-image--646866613.jpg" width="149" /></a>Haven't been very crafty/project inspired this month. I relied on my mom to help me with curtains for the kids room, which meant I cut and she sewed. Turned out cute, I think, and just went with some simple but cheap curtain rods. Thinking about doing some ruffle curtains like <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162920953/" target="_blank">these</a> for our room now, but I'm such a chicken when it comes to sewing and I don't know why because halfway through I always love it.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VaU56ist6cg/UQgb2qE4kVI/AAAAAAAAAT4/eq5JD_EKpAk/s640/blogger-image--1644237904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VaU56ist6cg/UQgb2qE4kVI/AAAAAAAAAT4/eq5JD_EKpAk/s200/blogger-image--1644237904.jpg" width="149" /></a>My only other project this month was to whip up a quick birthday present for my sister-in-law that lives next door. I'd been wanting to try some of the sugar scrub recipes that I've seen on Pinterest. I did have to pick up some coconut oil and peppermint essential oil at the health food store, but ended up coming home with jojoba oil and lemon essential oil instead. It made a nice pint size batch when mixed with the sugar and olive oil I had on hand, plus a little leftover that I've been trying. My only issue is that I added a bit more essential oil than it called for and it was a little too liquidy. By this I don't mean the hand scrub was actually a liquid, the color kept sinking to the bottom so it was more yellow at the base and whiter at the top. I kept tipping the jar upside down and within a few minutes the entire jar would be the same. I wanted it nice and scentsy so next time I will use less olive oil and more essential oil. This is the <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162228537/" target="_blank">link</a> to my pin. As you can see I also used this <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162893225/" target="_blank">inspiration</a> of a cupcake liner to hide/prettify the boring lid. She is also a peanut butter and chocolate lover so I made <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162783915/" target="_blank">Sloppy Peanut Butter Pie</a>, which was very good, but also very rich. Definitely easy enough to make again but I would halve the powdered sugar!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-47mFzJlXjAM/UQgb0fBB1nI/AAAAAAAAATo/w9QpmNsfHf4/s640/blogger-image--1720365016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-47mFzJlXjAM/UQgb0fBB1nI/AAAAAAAAATo/w9QpmNsfHf4/s200/blogger-image--1720365016.jpg" width="149" /></a><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mUc9jyTPJIc/UQgb9_E07YI/AAAAAAAAAUg/yfURPDfSM-o/s640/blogger-image--1467220871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mUc9jyTPJIc/UQgb9_E07YI/AAAAAAAAAUg/yfURPDfSM-o/s200/blogger-image--1467220871.jpg" width="149" /></a>I can't say I've been getting the kids into too many crazy activities either. I guess the Christmas toys have kept them pretty occupied. A little surprised because M&M had four snow days this month, a day at home because of a dentist appointment and another day at home because of a planned teacher protest that ended up being cancelled. That and the month started off with still being on winter vacation for a bit at the beginning which meant we've only had two weeks of school this month! The only thing we tried was <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162211369/" target="_blank">this</a> plastic bag finger painting which kept then occupied and independent for maybe 15 min and then they were sick of it. Not sure if I needed to use more paint or if my craft paint doesn't work the same as the tempura used in the link, but it wasn't worth keeping. They had five minutes of fun and then I had to keep encouraging the two to try to make a fingerprint or draw a picture. M&M has a pd day on Friday to start off February and I already have supplies to make some fake snow so hopefully that provides more entertainment. I'm sure it will be messier.<br />
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I used <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162492660/" target="_blank">this</a> great organizing idea for my small scrapbook scraps. Found these cute magazine boxes at the dollar store and at two for 1$ the price was right. M&M and I waded through this overflowing box of teeny tiny scraps and some bigger stuff too and ended up with a big box for her classrooms art centre and a much more manageable system for momma, color coordinated too!<br />
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I've been pinning tons of stuff for my sister in laws upcoming baby shower I'm hosting and super excited about. Party planning is sooo much fun! So I will keep you posted on that as we work through it. My other sister in law doesn't want me to over do the food like I usually tend to, so I'm trying to really find things that will come together nice. We are going with a "Popping" theme and throwing as many chevron patterns in as possible. Check out this <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/56295064063975933/" target="_blank">idea</a> for her baby room: cute, eh?! I've finished up the invites and my pinsperstion is <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162987899/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162987980/" target="_blank">here</a>! Plus a new niece? What's not too love? I already got a totally cute mute button pacifier like <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162740702/" target="_blank">this</a>, but in pink as a Christmas gift for the new squaller, that I thought was rocking when I saw it in Pinterest! Hope you are looking as forward to February's pins as I am!Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-46094181829770690282013-01-02T12:53:00.003-08:002013-01-02T12:53:25.309-08:00December's Pins! The Holidays are such a good time for Pinterest...where else can I possibly find awesome recipes to cook and share, plus homemade gifts that keep the price down on holiday gifting, and crafts for that two week holiday M&M and I have both been looking so forward to? Yes, the Internet in general provides all these, but without Pinterest I would be surfing like a desperado with two screaming kids yelling that they are hungry and bored for something to eat, do, and whip up for the Christmas Concert Bake Sale tomorrow. Okay, so they still scream like desperado's, but Pinterest seriously makes our life easier and more fun!<br />
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And on to what we were up to in December....<br />
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It started off with a couple of craft projects I'd been wanting to do for some time. I love those date signs with the cute saying at the bottom, so I chose to do the hubby and I's birth date, wedding date, and the kids birth date, followed by "first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Emma and Tom in the baby Carriage." Fit our family pretty perfectly. I had this painted board from the Dollar Store that had a saying I really liked, but one of the letters was in an over sized cross that I wasn't so crazy about. I ended up finding a different sign with the same saying (minus cross), this one with a mirror behind it, also in the dollar store and decided to use this one for a new purpose. After a whole bunch of attempts at transfer printing (I tried using waxed paper instead of freezer paper and the ink only rubbed off about half the time), and chalking the saying (I only had leftover sidewalk chalk from the summer and there was too much to write), I ended up just using some good old-fashioned painting and stencils. Turned out cute I think...and the whole shelf is pretty much us in a nutshell! <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468161797702/" target="_blank">This</a> is the link for the original sign I saw and <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162739785/" target="_blank">these</a> <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162734375/" target="_blank">two </a>are the links that didn't work for me (because I promised this would also be about pins that are cool looking, but alot harder in theory!) I think if I were to attempt this again I might just print this sign from the computer and frame it like the original pin.<br />
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The next project was a shelf I'd been wanting to get hung. My dad made my sister and I matching shelves as kids and it hung in Emma's room at the last house. While I liked the shelf (I certainly can't buy anything that solid and well crafted for under $100), the color didn't really go well with their room anymore because of the new furniture we bought after the move. Then I saw a pin from one of the people I follow about stripping and redoing furniture...duh! So off I went to the hardware store. $20 later I came home with some stripping gel, sandpaper, gloves, and stain/urethane in hand. Everything worked out okay...I think the shelf looks good up, but as I was working it wasn't quite the color I was going for and I had some funky lines that appeared after I stripped the old stain off. I think the stripping gel might have dried a little bit before I got it all removed. I was also in a rush to start staining and I think I probably should have given it one more coat of the stripping gel to totally remove all the golden oak color. (In the pin it was okay to leave some of it so you got a farmhouse look.) A little more prep and this project would have turned out more like I expected, but thanks anyway Pinterest for getting me to do something I wouldn't have otherwise thought to attempt! Here's my <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162733925/" target="_blank">inspiration.</a><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ff1jrhSAZvQ/UOSQjMM6iFI/AAAAAAAAASY/NaswBpfFuas/s1600/IMG_1117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ff1jrhSAZvQ/UOSQjMM6iFI/AAAAAAAAASY/NaswBpfFuas/s200/IMG_1117.JPG" width="149" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d1eC0TCzKoo/UOSQbGV6bWI/AAAAAAAAASQ/hlaEwTwqF1c/s1600/IMG_1116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d1eC0TCzKoo/UOSQbGV6bWI/AAAAAAAAASQ/hlaEwTwqF1c/s200/IMG_1116.JPG" width="149" /></a> December sometimes seemed like a long month before we hit school break. Brad was working long hours and M&M was tired. Tired from no longer napping during the day because of school. Tired from the last three months of school. We were all ready for a break! One evening early in the month, I made something called Cloud Dough. It was really quick to make and kept the kiddos busy for over an hour. (Maybe it helped that I just stayed out of the room the entire time they were playing because I didn't want to yell at them for the mess that was being made. I just wanted them to enjoy making a mess!)<br />
<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162673586/" target="_blank">Cloud Dough</a> is really easy. 8 cups flour and 1 cup baby oil was enough for two kids and I still have one large Ziploc bag left that didn't end up on the floor or table. I even made it easy on myself and let them mix it up themselves. Describe it? Kind of like a cross between sand and and playdough.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YK7QHQ6p_YY/UNPDJMP-KaI/AAAAAAAAAQg/_4QxL_MVSEQ/s1600/IMG_1224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YK7QHQ6p_YY/UNPDJMP-KaI/AAAAAAAAAQg/_4QxL_MVSEQ/s200/IMG_1224.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kfSLAq2zizM/UOSRCHYYc4I/AAAAAAAAASw/pE6nhskDFzw/s1600/IMG_1223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kfSLAq2zizM/UOSRCHYYc4I/AAAAAAAAASw/pE6nhskDFzw/s200/IMG_1223.JPG" width="200" /></a> Every two weeks a bunch of the ladies in our church get together for coffee. Last year we did a cookie exchange and decided to continue the tradition this year, but upped the ante from one dozen to two. I made Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies with Brown Sugar Frosting. You can find them <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162811134/" target="_blank">here</a>. They were very yummy! I also included a few in containers when I sent goodies to school for the Christmas Concert bake sale. I also made a "<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162720818/" target="_blank">Starbucks Lemon Loaf</a>" that was moist and lemony.<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0aQSu76_ZOA/UNPDUKVETNI/AAAAAAAAAQo/jPDdEtwEY9s/s1600/IMG_1222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0aQSu76_ZOA/UNPDUKVETNI/AAAAAAAAAQo/jPDdEtwEY9s/s320/IMG_1222.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hsEvVFfSXNY/UNPC8DDPTeI/AAAAAAAAAQY/fToixSYoXag/s1600/IMG_1194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hsEvVFfSXNY/UNPC8DDPTeI/AAAAAAAAAQY/fToixSYoXag/s320/IMG_1194.JPG" width="320" /></a> M&M was lucky enough to have a short week during the last week of school in December. Monday the teachers were protesting Bill 115 so there was no school. I decided to stay at home with the kiddos, rather than walk since I have only worked two days so far this year and it's expensive to pay a babysitter when the income doesn't match that! For a fun activity we put a bar of Ivory soap in the microwave. After it expands about 10x the original size, it breaks apart into a million tiny pieces. We added water back into the bowl and a bit of food coloring before molding the mixture into cookie cutters to make soap animals the kids could use in the tub. Wasn't quite as fun or long lasting as the cloud dough, but a good experiment anyways. The microwave step was actually really cool! Ivory soap pin is<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162147109/" target="_blank"> here</a>:</div>
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I also used pinterest for a bit of decor advice and came up with this mirror setup for the top of our piano. It looks really festive now with a garland of Christmas lights reflecting and shining atop the old ivory keys. I also added the M&M and Moose's stockings to the sides, since we don't have a mantel. I hate to take them down because it will be a little dreary without the color! But then I guess the picture (from before) isn't too dreary, so I shall take courage! <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162784090/" target="_blank">Here</a> is my style advice.<img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yoqTfKAnGo0/UNPDmYj3v4I/AAAAAAAAAQ4/zzEbqIZ_0L8/s320/IMG_1170.JPG" width="320" /></div>
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Anyone else use Pinterest for gift ideas? We found this cute idea for a quick inexpensive gift to give all the adults at the school who are making an impact on Emma's life <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162668260/" target="_blank">here</a>. I also made a quick picture frame from the usual ugly dollar store variety and a piece of scrapbook paper for my sister-in-law. Just used spray adhesive and trimmed the paper to fit. I saw that on my sis's Pinterest, but didn't actually pin the link. As far as the kid's Christmas I loved this rule that limited my gift-giving to a reasonable amount! <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6755468162740721/" target="_blank">One thing they need, one thing they want, one thing to wear, and one thing to read!</a> I can't say the hubby was sooo anxious to limit it quite that much, but it helped restrain my instincts of over shopping!</div>
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Hope everyone had a wonderful holidays and is looking forward to another year!</div>
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P.S. Which is more useful...me copying the links to actual websites like I did in November or the links to my pins on Pinterest like I did on this post?</div>
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Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-31387105636570652972012-12-18T11:26:00.001-08:002012-12-20T17:59:52.858-08:00Ho, ho, home for the holidays!Ho, ho, home for the holidays.<br />
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Okay so I'm totally cheesy, I know...but this year I am thankful that we are all settled in to our new (really, really old) home! I'm also thankful for all those who made it possible for us to continue having the comfort of a home while we were under construction and those who helped us with sooo much of their time and effort getting this place livable.<br />
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mJ6CGlIE9SY/UMfzUCSK5sI/AAAAAAAAAMw/rqsBs_4YR54/s640/blogger-image--347556755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mJ6CGlIE9SY/UMfzUCSK5sI/AAAAAAAAAMw/rqsBs_4YR54/s200/blogger-image--347556755.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hAb4IuiM-BM/UMfzQSyKd7I/AAAAAAAAAMA/nwAjuIM9Ibo/s640/blogger-image--219290630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hAb4IuiM-BM/UMfzQSyKd7I/AAAAAAAAAMA/nwAjuIM9Ibo/s320/blogger-image--219290630.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
We've been here a few months now. A couple weeks ago, while skyping with my sis, I realized that she, and a lot of you, haven't gotten a tour yet. Please excuse the unfinished jobs, but don't hold your breath on seeing them done any time soon. We are pretty comfortable; while the to-do list is long, it's not the highest priority!<br />
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We shall start in the kitchen since that's our main entrance. Mud room will be great once it's insulated and finished (and I can store outerwear in there), but until that point my kitchen catches a lot of muddy boots, soaked mitts, and dropped coats. Still need some counter top (we are adding butcher block, as some of the granite we got with the kitchen was missing or beyond repair).<br />
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I like the looks of my stainless appliances and the turquoise wall, although the jury is still out on whether I'd choose stainless or not myself (our appliances came with the kitchen we bought used off kijiji). The fingerprints and drips down them are kind of annoying. Best secret is using dusting polish as cleaner! Thanks mom!<br />
I'll share a few of my favourite cupboards with you:<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I4jUdxPlkOk/UMfzPysT8kI/AAAAAAAAAL4/JP2NnMY0Bpc/s640/blogger-image-815336344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I4jUdxPlkOk/UMfzPysT8kI/AAAAAAAAAL4/JP2NnMY0Bpc/s200/blogger-image-815336344.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_TkdhZzLocE/UMfzRfhQg4I/AAAAAAAAAMI/JB66m9KsbP8/s640/blogger-image-783497988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_TkdhZzLocE/UMfzRfhQg4I/AAAAAAAAAMI/JB66m9KsbP8/s200/blogger-image-783497988.jpg" width="200" /></a>Love my pull out garbage bin!<br />
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Also love this pull out rack where I keep my baking stuff. I'd really like to add a pop up shelf on it for my bread machine, but that would just make the to- do list longer so I'm also good with the current setup.<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G5GIhlSTl3Y/UM-21y3xHdI/AAAAAAAAAOU/fzsv04bLBfs/s640/blogger-image-2136256760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G5GIhlSTl3Y/UM-21y3xHdI/AAAAAAAAAOU/fzsv04bLBfs/s200/blogger-image-2136256760.jpg" width="149" /></a>Really, really love that my toaster and Kitchen Aid are hidden away but still readily usable (even inside this cupboard) as we wired an outlet into the back! Thanks dad for being convinced we could make this work!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KW3fqZrXbHQ/UMfzTEoDbLI/AAAAAAAAAMY/BFL2sK2uw1E/s640/blogger-image-2085911354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KW3fqZrXbHQ/UMfzTEoDbLI/AAAAAAAAAMY/BFL2sK2uw1E/s200/blogger-image-2085911354.jpg" width="149" /></a>This organizer above the oven and microwave is awesome for my cookie pans and shallow dishes!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Mb4hQWLUTW0/UMfzBFzLeNI/AAAAAAAAALw/GX-dvzZ4GcU/s640/blogger-image-1418917012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Mb4hQWLUTW0/UMfzBFzLeNI/AAAAAAAAALw/GX-dvzZ4GcU/s320/blogger-image-1418917012.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
On to the study/dining area. Still need trim and a few organizing issues that will be solved when we get some other things crossed off our to-do list. The second desk (I'll keep the one you can see in the study area) that will be installed in the kitchen is currently in the dining area, and once gone it will leave room for a cute chair that will double as extra seating space when we need it at the computer. And my closet will be better organized once the mud room is finished.<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0z19XXUb84s/UMfzT4H_buI/AAAAAAAAAMo/RSaV14wLa8Q/s640/blogger-image-1004667681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0z19XXUb84s/UMfzT4H_buI/AAAAAAAAAMo/RSaV14wLa8Q/s200/blogger-image-1004667681.jpg" width="149" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HwaS9Ecuk7E/UMfzSp3FhnI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/AIWbo3F9RJA/s640/blogger-image--309869860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HwaS9Ecuk7E/UMfzSp3FhnI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/AIWbo3F9RJA/s200/blogger-image--309869860.jpg" width="149" /></a><br />
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Bathroom/ laundry is still a little rough. I haven't bothered to finish painting because we don't have the drywall completed yet. Also need the rest of the counter top (sitting in the mudroom right now) to be installed across the second cabinet and washer/dryer. Thankful to have a working tub and toilet downstairs tho...having to shower the kids got a little old!<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TmCf8yS7ZGM/UMfzUu8a6wI/AAAAAAAAAM4/C98Lhs4JjhQ/s640/blogger-image-1327798566.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TmCf8yS7ZGM/UMfzUu8a6wI/AAAAAAAAAM4/C98Lhs4JjhQ/s200/blogger-image-1327798566.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AzFTCcKShWM/UM-23sFJDmI/AAAAAAAAAOk/cPvRyoaR8Lo/s640/blogger-image--786226708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AzFTCcKShWM/UM-23sFJDmI/AAAAAAAAAOk/cPvRyoaR8Lo/s200/blogger-image--786226708.jpg" width="200" /></a>Living room is pretty well set. Still have a few minor issues to work on. Wiring up a light for outside and replacing/ installing the rest of the pot lights is pretty much it. The ones we already have installed seem to have an issue with bulbs and we have been replacing the burnt ones from a few extra boxes of lights we didn't use, rather than go buy new ones. (You can't just replace the bulb, you have to replace the whole glass/ plastic/ bulb, as it is all one piece.)<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D9GjFh_M2xg/UNDAOryw8DI/AAAAAAAAAPY/dHXYHArQC4o/s640/blogger-image-1061538997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D9GjFh_M2xg/UNDAOryw8DI/AAAAAAAAAPY/dHXYHArQC4o/s200/blogger-image-1061538997.jpg" width="149" /></a><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_ctwTPvUz9M/UM-23RzafHI/AAAAAAAAAOc/iZCY69PjB-4/s320/blogger-image--1927132380.jpg" /> The stairs need an obvious refinishing of some sort. Think I might just "temporarily" paint them. Only afraid temporary will turn into permanent!<br />
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Kids room is looking good with their new bunk beds. Still have some work to do creating a bench in the closet, but we got the shelf that I refinished hung this weekend and I was able to take a few things out of the closet. Emma was very excited to have the fancy doll out on display. (Both the dolly and shelf were mine as a kid!)<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0mDrPOBOQj0/UM0wFYV0YRI/AAAAAAAAAN4/XK5XhNU57UE/s640/blogger-image-789142774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0mDrPOBOQj0/UM0wFYV0YRI/AAAAAAAAAN4/XK5XhNU57UE/s200/blogger-image-789142774.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mzmu_P8DqCM/UM0wFzMhenI/AAAAAAAAAOA/wdtEiap-o9k/s1600/blogger-image-537321218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mzmu_P8DqCM/UM0wFzMhenI/AAAAAAAAAOA/wdtEiap-o9k/s200/blogger-image-537321218.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Love having our third bedroom be a guest bedroom (last house the kids had their own bedrooms so when guests came one or both had to be moved). Of course if we need both bedrooms, they still have to move, but it's nice for everyday. Momma isn't cleaning up two toy strewn bedrooms everyday...she's the one making a mess of the second one by throwing all the hide away junk that has nowhere else to go in that room! Still need a light installed here, and again some closet work, but no rush...we have no plans for guests in the near future! Unless someone wants to invite themselves over...I'd put a rush on it for you!<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wNaF35Uc_WY/UNDALFWzIBI/AAAAAAAAAPA/Ew_ff8hlzhc/s1600/blogger-image-1787769763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wNaF35Uc_WY/UNDALFWzIBI/AAAAAAAAAPA/Ew_ff8hlzhc/s200/blogger-image-1787769763.jpg" /></a><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W5XY4JalgmI/UNDAOODVNyI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/uNLSZyy-GBY/s200/blogger-image--1200386925.jpg" /></div>
I found this cute wall stick-on (above) at Joann's for 99 cents and couldn't resist. Ended up designing the rest of the room (paint schema that also translated into some other rooms) around it.<br />
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Our room is also close. Trim and a piece of drywall over the door will about cover it. I have mirror doors to go on the closet and we need a mirror above the sink, but I'm still searching for the perfect one.<br />
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Of course we still need trim throughout the house, and the outside has some cosmetics that will really appear when spring arrives again, but for now it looks so pretty with the fresh snow. Okay if I could just get hubby to install that ugly piece of drywall hanging out on the porch. <br />
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We are home for the holidays! Stop in for a visit!<br />
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Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-61077879040052324272012-12-01T07:59:00.002-08:002012-12-03T12:29:15.910-08:00Pinterest Favorites! Like many of you I'm a little...okay alot...in love with Pinterest! Soooo useful (and NOT just as the ultimate time waster.) I saw a post on Facebook recently that sums up my husbands view of it: "<span class="userContent">Pinterest...lets you check out all the cool things you could be doing if you weren't stuck on Pinterest!" Okay so maybe I spend more, no let's say, as much time pinning as I do creating, but I can think of far worse things to have an addiction to!</span><br />
<span class="userContent"> One of my peeves about Pinterest tho, is that while I have a dozen boards and 20 or so pins on each board, not all my pins turn out to be good links (like when you are loving the picture but don't actually check to see if it is what it says it is) or it is a good link but the recipe wasn't really worth pinning, much less making and I just did both. Plus I keep seeing everyone else pinning it and I want to scream STOP! NO GOOD! So I thought I might start a little tradition of sharing my favorite pins from the month, be it a recipe, craft, or word of wisdom. And without further ado, here's what I was up to in November.</span><br />
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<span class="userContent">Let's start off with some recipes. We had a lot of company this month, so cooking something out of the ordinary round was a high priority around here. Here are the ones that were delicious, easy, and perfect for spreading holiday cheer!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/new-recipes/chess-squares.html/attachment/chess-squares-11" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Chess Squares Recipe with Photos" class="attachment-full" height="133" src="http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/chess-squares-10.jpg" title="Chess Squares Recipe with Photos" width="200" /></a><span class="userContent">Texas Gold or Chess Squares which are all very similar to Crack Pie, I got from <a href="http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/chess-squares.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Simple ingredient list, quick prep, and sooo SWEET! Perfect for a potluck or family gathering that pops up at the last minute.</span><br />
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<span class="userContent">I served this to top off lasagna soup from <a href="http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2011/03/24/lasagna-soup/" target="_blank">Farm Girl's Dabbles</a> and <a href="http://eatcakefordinner.blogspot.ca/2012/01/mini-garlic-monkey-breads.html?m=1" target="_blank">mini-garlic-monkey-breads</a> from Eat Cake for Dinner. Monkey bread was so quick and Emma had a blast helping me cut up the Pillsbury rolls and mixing them with the spices. My hubby raved about the lasagna soup, and so of course I'll make it again, but next time use rotini noodles instead of broken up (regular size) lasagna noodles. Wish I could find the mini ones she talked about in the recipe.</span><br />
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<span class="userContent"> For our coffee hour with the girls I made a pumpkin crisp that was seriously....DIVINE! You can try that recipe <a href="http://rachelschultz.com/2012/10/27/pumpkin-crisp/" target="_blank">here</a> from Rachel Shultz. Again super easy, no crust, a can of pumpkin, a yellow cake mix, butter, pecans, and evaporated milk are pretty much it. This one is also great for a gathering because the recipe filled a 10 inch pie pan and an 8x8. One to keep, one to share! I'm sure we will be having this again during the holidays! </span><br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qS-7w2ZfvHQ/ULoqHg-MJeI/AAAAAAAAALM/zL3Rw6imIfc/s640/blogger-image--325515975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qS-7w2ZfvHQ/ULoqHg-MJeI/AAAAAAAAALM/zL3Rw6imIfc/s640/blogger-image--325515975.jpg" /></a><span class="userContent">For the other pumpkin lovers out there we also made <a href="http://foodgawker.com/post/2012/10/19/199376/" target="_blank">these</a> Soft Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cookies for a quick treat on Thursday night. They were made, cooked, and frosted all within an hour, plus we squeezed bath time in there too! I'm a fan of cream cheese frosting and the cinnamon and vanilla in this recipe makes it extra special.</span><br />
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<span class="userContent"> We haven't been real crafty around here lately. Maybe it is knowing there are still boxes to unpack in the basement that is slowing me down, but I've been blaming it on the fact the dollar store doesn't have the couple of things I still need to finish getting the kid's pictures up on the wall. Hopefully they will soon! The craftiest thing I did lately was dress up my chicken chalkboard in the kitchen for the holidays...yes that lovely artwork behind the Soft Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cookies is it. Not quite as good as these <a href="http://papercrave.com/trendspotting-chalkboard-holiday-cards-invitations/" target="_blank">chalkboard artists</a>, but it does the trick for our home!</span><br />
<span class="userContent"> So I'm pretty much a one hairstyle girl...well two. One for everyday and one for Sunday. I actually....wait for it....have couple of new styles I added to my repertoire. So that makes FOUR hairstyles that are quick and easy enough for everyday and Sunday too, for that matter! First I tried this <a href="http://www.ohsoprettythediaries.com/2012/02/tutorial-quick-simple-updo.html" target="_blank"> quick and simple updo</a> from the Pretty Diaries. Problem 1: With hair as long as mine, not quite so quick. And I have really thin hair too, so it wasn't quite as cute as in the picture, but as I look at the instructions again I also realized I left out the step of braiding a braid each section. Next, I ran across a picture, maybe <a href="http://media-cache-lt0.pinterest.com/upload/37014028157250819_vN5LIVNX.jpg" target="_blank">this one</a> and found it easier and cuter. French braid on the side that you can stop at the hairline or braid all the way to the end. Then it is a messy bun at the end or do a traditional bun with the longer braid. Either way...I like! (sorry about the picture quality...I pretty much am terrible at taking pictures of my own hair....you don't even want to know how many tries this took!)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fa5kPjRm65s/ULosLoDfXKI/AAAAAAAAALc/RpcH-khR4nQ/s1600/blogger-image-869952047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fa5kPjRm65s/ULosLoDfXKI/AAAAAAAAALc/RpcH-khR4nQ/s320/blogger-image-869952047.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0v0gjRHQcug/ULoqIM2a6cI/AAAAAAAAALU/_3PcUQn9weQ/s640/blogger-image-869952047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div><span class="userContent"></span><br />
<span class="userContent">December will be busy, but hopefully I will be able to squeeze in a few crafts that I've been eyeing up. I know I will continue to use Pinterest for recipes! And there are some great gift ideas for the holidays, too. Not to mention fun games for our two family get-togethers. I also spotted a <a href="http://www.positivelypresent.com/2012/11/30day-gratitude-photo.html" target="_blank">photo challenge</a> that encourages thankfulness that I plan on trying in December...ooh ya, today! Now if only Pinterst could potty train my son, we might really be on to something.</span><br />
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P.S. I've also added a Pinterest button of my own, if you want to keep these links around to try out at a later date!! It should be seen below this post!Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-23612612165165791272012-10-18T13:31:00.001-07:002012-10-19T08:19:43.477-07:00The Misadventure's!<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0Dzaudi4GJA/UIBnhy5LlzI/AAAAAAAAAJE/FftnxWzDna8/s640/blogger-image-2140727153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0Dzaudi4GJA/UIBnhy5LlzI/AAAAAAAAAJE/FftnxWzDna8/s640/blogger-image-2140727153.jpg" /></a>Ladders Make Great Tents!<br />
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Of course, second full day living in the house and I have a touch of the flu. Actually it's a bit reminiscent of how the week has gone. Not so much a grand adventure as several misadventures that usually resolve with far more ease than the panic they first induce. <br />
We moved most of our things from the in-laws Saturday, but never quite finished with the mattress and the fridge because the hubby had to have some play time (hockey), too. With all the rain we didn't actually finish up until Tuesday night. I'm jumping ahead of myself tho...<br />
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Sunday night we came to do a few things and discovered a leak in the middle of the kitchen, new roof and all. The source seems to be the lack of flashing on the mud room roof, which is the only new exterior addition we added. Obviously I was freaking out over my brand new drywall, but by Tuesday it seems the leak had healed, at least until the next time we get a driving rain that blows at that perfect angle of havoc! Flashing that little section is a priority for the weekend!<br />
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It was pouring again Monday night so it wasn't until Tuesday night that we settled in, roasted alive from the heater going full blast, but a mostly good nights sleep anyways...Emma was only up 3 times coughing and using the bathroom...okay scratch that. We survived our first night with no ghostly visitors that I keep hearing about from people trying to get a rise out of me. <br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H8Ftk-U0vQA/UIC0U--_PdI/AAAAAAAAAJw/ERY3WVgJwKk/s640/blogger-image--1280623336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H8Ftk-U0vQA/UIC0U--_PdI/AAAAAAAAAJw/ERY3WVgJwKk/s640/blogger-image--1280623336.jpg" /></a>On to the next mishap; we have some water issues in our basement due to an underground spring/river in the vicinity. We have the solutions to this problem about half accomplished but not completely. I went down to the basement in the afternoon on Tuesday and found the hose for the sump pump had never got put back outside so it was just recirculating in the basement and there was an inch of water in the low spots of the basement. Yikes, considering I have a lot left to unpack from down there. We do have everything up on pallets, so I only had a few boxes that were wet due to various rummaging as I randomly looking for stuff. (Let's just say, packing makes alot more sense when you are doing it rather than undoing.) The worst was not knowing what to do about the rising water. I finally decided I had to try something, so I started pulling on the hose for the sump pump, realized the problem and managed to drag it halfway across the basement, up into the crawl space, crawl around a few pipes, and shove it out the one and only window. <br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rF7n1pVlNB4/UIC0WIMljTI/AAAAAAAAAKA/rctYllzdlEs/s640/blogger-image-1726848039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rF7n1pVlNB4/UIC0WIMljTI/AAAAAAAAAKA/rctYllzdlEs/s640/blogger-image-1726848039.jpg" /></a>Today was supposed to be a major laundry day, since yesterday I put my first load into the washer and then proceeded to leave the house for all bit 5 min of the load. Those five minutes were the ones I discovered the drain hose was not hooked into the drain but instead draining all over my bathroom floor. Sweet! And then laundry today kept getting sideswiped by the fact that my dryer blows the fuse halfway through each load. Okay when you know the problem, but it takes awhile to figure out exactly what's going on, especially when one flips the breakers the wrong way and really gets panicked about there being no power whatsoever. <br />
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Now if I could just get this stomach to settle I might sit up long enough to get those two loads folded and be on to the next mis-adventure!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-DvuQTqPJqvw/UIC0VXRacWI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/2EETzs2Mr_s/s640/blogger-image--1165020924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-DvuQTqPJqvw/UIC0VXRacWI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/2EETzs2Mr_s/s640/blogger-image--1165020924.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And that lived in mess, I mentioned in my last post...appeared pretty quickly!</div>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-76670880142275328622012-09-26T15:05:00.001-07:002012-10-10T10:12:21.140-07:00Still the little things!<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lBYKLemytWA/UGN8aecal5I/AAAAAAAAAIo/d2Z7797Uhvk/s640/blogger-image-1287229294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lBYKLemytWA/UGN8aecal5I/AAAAAAAAAIo/d2Z7797Uhvk/s640/blogger-image-1287229294.jpg" /></a>It's really the little things that matter in life. You've heard it before and you will hear it again. And so it is in remodelling...the little things are important. Not only do they slow you down (and I mean way down) but if you don't do them right the first time they lead to bigger problems later. <br />
So we've had some setbacks with silly little things like plumbing a line here or figuring a wire out there, but overall we are getting alot closer to move in day!<br />
Doors are in. Well to be truthful they were in, but now they are back out to get painted. Which was a fiasco since electric paint sprayers are terrible inventions!<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Kx65E3HGhz0/UGN8DTlKhXI/AAAAAAAAAIA/V2edwfdeq9E/s640/blogger-image-267659093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Kx65E3HGhz0/UGN8DTlKhXI/AAAAAAAAAIA/V2edwfdeq9E/s640/blogger-image-267659093.jpg" /></a>Floors are in everywhere but the kitchen and bath where we want to put ceramic tile. Really makes those rooms look finished, that is until someone sprays sawdust everywhere! Which is a daily occurrence. Good thing tommy is such a great vacuumer!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-P59mQd82G0A/UGN8Zvm7SPI/AAAAAAAAAIg/-JPWXnxfOPY/s640/blogger-image--1605714285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-P59mQd82G0A/UGN8Zvm7SPI/AAAAAAAAAIg/-JPWXnxfOPY/s640/blogger-image--1605714285.jpg" /></a></div>Kitchen is getting closer. As of today I have a kitchen faucet that works, until it starts to leak out the line for the dishwasher, which is sitting in the living room. Stovetop is wired in and oven is set to get a wire run! There are a few outlets left to wire, microwave to install and a bit of countertop, plus a whole lot of scrubbing and unpacking!<br />
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lh37ri7Adfw/UGN8FDpRPII/AAAAAAAAAIQ/wHzko38xTPY/s640/blogger-image--1509476494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lh37ri7Adfw/UGN8FDpRPII/AAAAAAAAAIQ/wHzko38xTPY/s640/blogger-image--1509476494.jpg" /></a>Outside is looking good too! Porch is mostly finished! Needs a few more shingles in the mud room, some flashing, and that exterior house wall still needs a paint job.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gNqa3Xzl9-E/UGN8F2Ksu2I/AAAAAAAAAIY/kHbgBKlYUhw/s640/blogger-image-1208389046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gNqa3Xzl9-E/UGN8F2Ksu2I/AAAAAAAAAIY/kHbgBKlYUhw/s640/blogger-image-1208389046.jpg" /></a></div>Currently, blogging on the way back from Sudbury with another door and a whole lot of other stuff, so things should shape up by Friday! Or hopefully they will since my dad is headed back home then. I have a feeling it's going to go from construction mess to lived in mess fairly quickly.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7XLWm60UXFA/UGN8Ecw673I/AAAAAAAAAII/dDEmNESBN30/s640/blogger-image--1403940678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7XLWm60UXFA/UGN8Ecw673I/AAAAAAAAAII/dDEmNESBN30/s640/blogger-image--1403940678.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CPAKbYoh1Jk/UGN8bQFzTkI/AAAAAAAAAIw/sYiKi8D21uQ/s640/blogger-image-1192980243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CPAKbYoh1Jk/UGN8bQFzTkI/AAAAAAAAAIw/sYiKi8D21uQ/s640/blogger-image-1192980243.jpg" /></a></div>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-82865653051802638672012-09-04T10:46:00.001-07:002012-09-06T06:41:29.711-07:00Just keep telling yourself...Just keep telling yourself...<br />
I feel like these past few weeks that has been my mantra. With summer, whirlwind that it was, coming to a rather abrupt end and fall upon us we have a few big adjustments to make, the very least of which is no more sleeping in. Just keep telling yourself, fall is fun, especially when we start canning tomorrow.<br />
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Emma was off to her first day of junior kindergarten this morning and Tommy and I eagerly await her arrival home. As for this momma, we've decided it's time to be just that, a momma. Especially since I already had a job lined up for the fall, I have some negative feelings about this decision, but with a little help, I am trying to stay focused on the most important things in our life! Perhaps I will return to work at some point, but it will certainly be to a lesser degree if I do. Just keep telling yourself, this is for the best.<br />
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As for summer, yes it went by quickly, and no we didn't get as much done as planned, but overall I need very few reminders that the summer was a happy one. We did not finish all our summer bucket clothespins, but that just gives us something to look forward to next year. And rather than tell you all our adventures, I thought I'd share some pictures of our favorite bucket list memories. Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-bn0F4aKt1e8/UEY-aoEsRiI/AAAAAAAAAG8/oFfJKp9GwIY/s640/blogger-image-1171603695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-bn0F4aKt1e8/UEY-aoEsRiI/AAAAAAAAAG8/oFfJKp9GwIY/s640/blogger-image-1171603695.jpg" />Picnics (by the pool)</a></div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lM7jUaDE6Es/UEY-a_q7anI/AAAAAAAAAHE/nkLIiIQWOl8/s640/blogger-image-807373889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lM7jUaDE6Es/UEY-a_q7anI/AAAAAAAAAHE/nkLIiIQWOl8/s640/blogger-image-807373889.jpg" />Go out for breakfast (just happened to have our babysitter as our waitress)</a></div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NbZLGtq8lVs/UEY-cAKl8XI/AAAAAAAAAHM/zDtsn7ixmLA/s640/blogger-image-681576894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NbZLGtq8lVs/UEY-cAKl8XI/AAAAAAAAAHM/zDtsn7ixmLA/s640/blogger-image-681576894.jpg" />Arts and crafts</a></div>
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JGcLfiRgrX4/UEY-co-Z02I/AAAAAAAAAHU/tMnZUNFSqHc/s640/blogger-image-1004764405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JGcLfiRgrX4/UEY-co-Z02I/AAAAAAAAAHU/tMnZUNFSqHc/s640/blogger-image-1004764405.jpg" />Family Fishing (Labour Day Weekend with a beautiful blue moon in the background) </a></div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-r8IoF7K5lyg/UEY-dNbll3I/AAAAAAAAAHc/hVZawfoFZio/s640/blogger-image-864592758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-r8IoF7K5lyg/UEY-dNbll3I/AAAAAAAAAHc/hVZawfoFZio/s640/blogger-image-864592758.jpg" />Girl's Shopping Day</a></div>
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qhgkGdfe5m0/UEY-dhbZsSI/AAAAAAAAAHk/O6nSo_AQaks/s640/blogger-image--791898003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qhgkGdfe5m0/UEY-dhbZsSI/AAAAAAAAAHk/O6nSo_AQaks/s640/blogger-image--791898003.jpg" />Firecrackers (for the 4th of July)</a></div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-fFo-ZLqfqO4/UEY-eL9KS2I/AAAAAAAAAHs/0FPrruBMZ7g/s640/blogger-image--1234932828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-fFo-ZLqfqO4/UEY-eL9KS2I/AAAAAAAAAHs/0FPrruBMZ7g/s640/blogger-image--1234932828.jpg" />Cedar Point (with family from both sides)</a></div>
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Just keep telling yourself, One day these days will only exist in your memories...so make those memories good ones!</div>
Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-23299740941515706092012-08-19T17:06:00.001-07:002012-08-20T10:44:06.277-07:00Peaches time! Summer must be almost over...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-J2M5Sn7KLFE/UDJ3T6gKzYI/AAAAAAAAAGo/z6RNouM-bas/s640/blogger-image--1370924393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-J2M5Sn7KLFE/UDJ3T6gKzYI/AAAAAAAAAGo/z6RNouM-bas/s640/blogger-image--1370924393.jpg" /></a></div>
Summer's end is fast approaching. Besides the cold weather we have been having for the past week that reminds us of fall, I've started my end-of-summer freezing and canning. Today was peaches...and I thought I'd share my recipe, because it's so easy and tasty.<br />
Rather than canning them, which is a whole lot of work for what (in my opinion) turns out to be a lot different than that yummy deliciousness of a fresh peach. This way you get the best of both worlds...taste of a fresh peach all winter long. <br />
<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Z-oETMFYZc4/UDGHcJSu8NI/AAAAAAAAAGM/EWfWyH5_7uo/s640/blogger-image--1419773233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Z-oETMFYZc4/UDGHcJSu8NI/AAAAAAAAAGM/EWfWyH5_7uo/s640/blogger-image--1419773233.jpg" /></a> Using a food processor with a shredder attachment, and no chopping blade is the secret. The best part, no boiling required, you can shred the peaches skin and all.<br />
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1. Rinse skins and halve peaches. Remove pit from halves.<br />
2. After piling up a bowl of halves, shred peaches using the food processor. <br />
3. Add sugar and lemon juice (to preserve color). I just do it to taste, as peaches can vary in how much sugar needed depending on the batch.<br />
4. I freeze in medium freezer bags of about 3 cups each, just enough for a serving at dinner and a snack later.<br />
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Emma loves them still partially frozen, and I have to agree the colder the better! <br />
On to tomatoes next, and then I know fall will be around the corner! Tomorrow Emma and I are off to school shop, so we are squeezing in a few more summer bucket pins, before time slips away on us!<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c_0k7UA_1Bc/UDGHcq2mTSI/AAAAAAAAAGU/FYIdorfjgpw/s640/blogger-image-1105072750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c_0k7UA_1Bc/UDGHcq2mTSI/AAAAAAAAAGU/FYIdorfjgpw/s640/blogger-image-1105072750.jpg" /></a></div>
Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-78471558907750786892012-08-13T10:46:00.000-07:002012-10-18T18:57:54.515-07:00Slowly, but surely...our wishlist keeps shrinking!<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I've been asked for a house update by several people now, so I decided it might be best to just post it here and then everyone can see the progress for themselves. Some days I feel like we are going backwards, (like when we started ripping up the kitchen floor, see <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4604508803033048744#editor/target=post;postID=5978790362867427577">here</a> or the Sunday we went to deliver our last load of stuff from the previous house and discovered two inches of water on the floor) but when I look back at pictures from last month there is forward momentum!</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I though the best way to deliver that progress would be to go over our original wishlist, which you can read <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4604508803033048744#editor/target=post;postID=2334711341388358499">here</a> if you want a refresher on what the house was like when we bought it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1. Drywall: Check--We have a few spots left to drywall, but not much. It might also have gotten done a little quicker for our tastes (because then my kitchen would NOT be sitting in the living room instead of installed in it's proper place), but so be it. We still have one wall of the downstairs bath that is missing drywall because we have to see where the stove will be wired in (on the opposite side of that wall) and might not require a lot of drywall as the bathtub/shower unit will also be against this un-drywalled piece. Same goes for the upstairs bath...We have the water lines run for our shower upstairs, but as it is not installed yet, one wall in the guest bedroom closet requires a chunk to finish it off. Feels good to have this dusty job (mostly) complete!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2. Painting: One of things I've really enjoyed about this is being able to choose all my colors at one time. I haven't been very adventurous, I must admit, but color coordinating can be an adventure in itself, so I've tried to stick to classic, but slightly modern neutrals. Luckily this is another project mostly completed. For obvious reasons I haven't touched the downstairs bath, but other than a small portion in the living room that has my counter top laying against it, everything has at least one coat of paint! Actually, the only thing that doesn't have just one coat is the living room because I would like to make sure the last coat is all put on at the same time and we don't get a slightly different hue on two walls that meet in a corner. It has also been a project that feels good to have almost accomplished, (maybe just because I've been doing it every morning for the past month!) And yes, I'm to the point where I am sick of cutting in and ceilings, and standing on stepladders and having paint covered hands and...okay I will just quit there.<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MA841-KwxhY/UCVNu1Tln3I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/eIF462H92l4/s640/blogger-image--1654381392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MA841-KwxhY/UCVNu1Tln3I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/eIF462H92l4/s640/blogger-image--1654381392.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Probably the most adventurous room, I choose a turquoise color for one wall of the kitchen. I had a bright blue and green kitchen in the last house and LOVED it, so I felt like I needed to put a punch of color somewhere. I'm thinking of accenting with bits of red!</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3. Windows: If you look at the kitchen closely, you will see that we have two new windows installed, although not permanently. However, as you can see from the shot below (what will be the "study" and sits to the back of the dining room) those are the only two. We have all the rest, but our contractors are working on the front porch at the moment and hope to use it's roof when they install the upstairs windows. I'm still thinking they will probably add the most "pop" to the house from the outside.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GoSl_29kSKI/UCVNwvC7jVI/AAAAAAAAAFg/yREX7kxVjrk/s640/blogger-image-1566343209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GoSl_29kSKI/UCVNwvC7jVI/AAAAAAAAAFg/yREX7kxVjrk/s640/blogger-image-1566343209.jpg" /></a><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Qgz-9JMnlEk/UCVNxzLmnPI/AAAAAAAAAF4/U93Cx8W7hl0/s640/blogger-image-1363994825.jpg" />4. Downstairs bathroom: As you can see, no where near being complete, but this is does show how we decided to put the bath and laundry together to create more useable space (YAY!) and how the door opens into the study area, rather than the kitchen. Hopefully we will see some progress here in the next couple of weeks. My parents are headed to Menard's today to pick up three of our outside doors and the tub/shower unit.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">5. Redesign upstairs bedrooms: After much discussion we decided to take the back two bedrooms (by back, I mean they sat at the back of the hallway) and turn them into a master bath/bedroom. Again, we are not quite finished in the bath as everything is still sitting in the boxes it came in, despite the plumbing being all ready to go. HINT, HINT! Liking the fact that we will have our own closets, cause there are two! And I've already laid claim to the one you can see here, cause it's bigger!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ix6MSwohDzc/UCVNxIlBdhI/AAAAAAAAAFo/h9jNVe9rBGY/s640/blogger-image--614694248.jpg" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">6. New Floors: Obviously not done, but will be before we move in. And no we didn't find any hardwood anywhere! Such a bummer!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">7. Structural elements have all been looked after. We have a massive beam running through the middle of our living room/dining/study now, but it actually doesn't look out of place. We also addressed the nasty floor joices in the kitchen and some drainage issues outside.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">8. Insulation: We put new insulation where it was absolutely necessary, but plan to finish this job by spraying insulation in the attic and probably in the outer kitchen wall before winter hits.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">9. Porch: For various reasons this has actually moved up the wishlist. We tore off the old porch walls, ceiling, and floor and opened it up so we will have a partial wrap-around porch and deck off the back. As I mentioned, this is where we are seeing the most progress right now. On Monday, our roof trusses should be going up!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">10. Attic: I'm still hoping we might render it useful someday, but right now I have too many other jobs to advocate for, that I feel this project is not even on the radar.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Which leaves us with the kitchen (why that wasn't on my top 10, I'm not sure other than it was maybe such an obvious thing?!) Yes, these are my cupboards and they are currently sitting in the living room, but by the end of next week when my Dad comes, they should be in their proper place! </div><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Cw6pDFFdhMY/UCVNwFZLivI/AAAAAAAAAFY/JLLIlqSXkjU/s640/blogger-image-1028595207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Cw6pDFFdhMY/UCVNwFZLivI/AAAAAAAAAFY/JLLIlqSXkjU/s640/blogger-image-1028595207.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Also gives a good shot of how we opened the staircase up...this would have been looking at a wall before!<img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-w0qLDjrc_Z8/UCVNxuHOBiI/AAAAAAAAAFw/8I5dimpWB8g/s640/blogger-image-769971822.jpg" />Kids room, I'm going to add pink and brown stickers on the green walls that I found at Canadian Tire, buy them bunk beds, and hope they can share for a few years!</div><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-L47SxH45_Lc/UCVNt6C3OCI/AAAAAAAAAFI/HmllxWPAA9E/s640/blogger-image-27235117.jpg" />Guest bedroom walls are Pecan Shell and Buckwheat ceiling all by Benjamin Moore at Canadian Tire. Master bedroom walls are also Pecan Shell. Chestnut Pony is the dark brown wall in the kids room and my ceiling in the living/dining/study. Buckwheat continues from the upstairs ceilings to the hallway and all the walls in the living/dining/study. Loved that Benjamin Moore could be found close to home (usually I drive an hour for name brand paint), for the shades, but also for the primer added. Saved me from priming all my walls first! Two coats of paint=DONE!<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-trAF0b9ndoY/UICzm_wFDZI/AAAAAAAAAJY/m6iOQSzdsb8/s640/blogger-image--1656094214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-trAF0b9ndoY/UICzm_wFDZI/AAAAAAAAAJY/m6iOQSzdsb8/s640/blogger-image--1656094214.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rMDTbYQ0lHE/UICznkeDnhI/AAAAAAAAAJg/zGE-wda4_gs/s640/blogger-image-769227978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rMDTbYQ0lHE/UICznkeDnhI/AAAAAAAAAJg/zGE-wda4_gs/s640/blogger-image-769227978.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0B-qlqDw83I/UICzoCd7yQI/AAAAAAAAAJo/QTCsD7olbQ4/s640/blogger-image-1983459280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0B-qlqDw83I/UICzoCd7yQI/AAAAAAAAAJo/QTCsD7olbQ4/s640/blogger-image-1983459280.jpg" /></a></div>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4604508803033048744.post-17939301373684605572012-07-24T13:20:00.001-07:002012-07-31T11:36:43.777-07:00Summer bucket list: fingerpainting!Yes, I'm most certainly a multi-tasker. Even when the kids are involved in something fun, I'm always trying to figure out what task I can be accomplishing or how I can turn their creativity into something more significant. Handy I live in the 21st century then, since pinterst is always providing great advice for busy lifestyles. Not only can I be pinning while the kids are playing, but I can always find a project to turn fun into household decor. <br />
That being said part of the point of our summer bucket list is to focus on the fun things we do so I'm not always multi-tasking. Going out for breakfast was a fun memory for all of us and one of our favorite babysitters, who just happened to be our waitress. <br />
We've also been making sure to take lots of pictures, another pin on our bucket, to document our summer. The clothespin that reads: laugh, makes Emma laugh in the hysterical faking it kind of way whenever we read over our pins, but also reminds me that she is loving this experience! And her continuos reminder that an amusement park is another pin, will make sure we don't forget that we have to head south in the next few weeks!<br />
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Today we will throw another clothespin into our bucket since we spent some time fingerpainting. Thanks to pinterest, I was able to combine that with another craft, taping out names on canvas. Once the tape is removed we will have an instant masterpiece to hang in the kids new room! I'm not sure if the fingerpainting or mixing the paint into one muddy mess was more fun. It took a bit of effort on my part to keep my fingers out of their "pies" and add my own improvements!<br />
As for advice if you want to try this: My painters tape, at 1 inch, was too thick and so I had to cut each strip in half, making the name taping process pretty painful. Other supplies were craft paints (which washed off quite easily in the bath) and a small canvas from the dollar store. Emma had to be encouraged to paint all over the canvas, in order for her name to appear, instead of trying to paint a picture in one corner, so that took a little of the fun out of it for her. Actually, I think Emma would have enjoyed it more if she were given a paintbrush, but Tommy and paintbrushes can be troublesome. I gave Emma a wet wipe to keep her fingers clean when changing paint colors, but tommy wiped his down his legs. Either way they went straight to the bath and cleaned up quite nicely. <br />
A fun afternoon that will look good on the wall!! Thanks pinterest!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V9ob5CZsCms/UBGURqwHRMI/AAAAAAAAAE4/mufw7MNUtjk/s640/blogger-image-1121182440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V9ob5CZsCms/UBGURqwHRMI/AAAAAAAAAE4/mufw7MNUtjk/s640/blogger-image-1121182440.jpg" /></a></div>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06900043760166519338noreply@blogger.com0