All Hallows Eve

i LOVE Halloween.. i know it's been 2 years since my last post. but eh.. absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? 

anyways.. this is my new Halloween display and i LOVE it! 

best of all, i got the majority of it at the dollar store!  saweeeeeeeet.

i got all the glass wear at Tai Pan and it was  all marked down. i dont think i paid full price for any of them. 

and here we have Mr. Bones playing a haunting melody.  sometimes, i even surprise myself with my genius..  feel free to applaud at any time.  

Read more...

uh...

i know. i'm lame. and lazy.

who knew that 3 months had passed since my last post?
apparently, not i.

but.. like i said. i'm lame. and lazy. and busy.
meh.

here are some pictures because i'm not feeling very eloquent or witty at the moment.

we've been doing this.
i'd like to make my own ice cream, if anyone has an ice cream maker they'd like me to take off their hands.

lol.. what's a pirate's favorite letter? nope, not 'R'.. it's 'P'.
becuase it's missing a leg! haha!

we need to go into modeling.
(and by we i mean he)

and if this doesnt get us into JCrew kids i dont know what will...
i am in LoVE with his hair. swoon.

Read more...

felines

she never smiles.
(at least not for the camera)
this is all i ever get..
and its usually because she is in the middle of saying "maaaaaaaoww."
she can say like 6 or 7 words but apparently she's partial to cats.

when she wakes up?
"maaaaaoww."
when she wants a drink?
"maaaaaoww."
when you ask her to say something else?
"maaaaaoww."

it's awfully cute though.
and so is her super curly hair.

Read more...

homemade

have you ever wanted to try something.
and researched it.
and researched it some more.
got a bee in your bonnet
and then just felt too inadequate to do it?

thats how i was.


i wanted to make my own yogurt.
it was supposedly simple.
and easy.
and looked simple AND easy.
and i REALLY wanted to try it.
but,
for some reason i just never did..

until sunday!


and it was AWESOME!!
the savings alone are worth it! and its super delicious.
the only downfall?

we were out of granola.

so, i made some.. meh..
no biggie.
and it is AWESOME too..

so. seriously. try it. its worth it.

instructions and recipe (if you can call it that) found here.. isn't sheena awesome.

and here's my granola recipe

Cranberry Pecan Granola
5 c. rolled oats
(i use the 7 grain mix from Petersons bosch. they might have something similar at kitchen kneads, etc. its in the bulk section.)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. wheat germ
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. flax seed (ground)
1/2 c. honey (heated)
1/3 c. canola oil
3/4 c. margarine (melted)
1 tsp vanilla
craisins

mix dry ingredients.


mix wet ingredients.


mix together til coated.
add craisins (i just add as many as i think i want.. maybe 2 cups?)
spread onto cookie sheet.
bake 225 for 1.5 - 2 hours stirring once or twice.

serve with your new delicious and tasty yogurt.

* be careful not to overbake.
when you take it out of the oven it will still be wet, but as it dries it gets crunchy like granola.
if you overbake hoping to make it dry, it will just taste burnt.
not that i would know.

**edited: since originally writing this post and saving it until i wasnt lazy enough to upload the photos, i have made 2 more batches of yogurt. its awesome**

Read more...

whoa

i just got sucked into a vortex.

a completely hilarious vortex where i almost peed my pants.
dont attempt said vortex unless you have some serious time to kill.
i warned you.

have you been here? or here?

i think these are so funny.
you can submit your own, but i'm not that witty..
im more than happy to just read someone else's.

and i love letterpress. its just so fancy. find the cards here.

Read more...

echo, echo, echo...

blah...

i'm lame.
and lazy.
and i have this love/hate relationship with the interwebnet.

i love all the amazing things i find on it.
crafty things.
food things.
fashion things.

but then i get sucked in and it steals my time.

and then i get depressed because ALL THESE PEOPLE are so much more creative than i.
like seriously. why didnt i think of that..
and i wish i had more money to spend on who knows what.

and then i think about how much time i've probably wasted on the computer while i should have been cleaning or playing with my kids.
and that i have all that i need and i am happy about that.

thats why its been like 2+ months since i posted.
restraint, ya'll. thats what i call it.
or the lack of consistent internet capabilities.

meh..

so maybe i'll get another one on here.


one day.

p.s. does anyone else think that facebook is the most narcissistic thing ever?

Read more...

double trouble

whew.
i am so glad december is done.
what with crazy post office work schedules (read 12 hour work days), 2 birthdays shortly after christmas, not to mention christmas itself, it gets a little stressful.

and since the girls share their birthday, i tried extra hard to make sure it was special. for BOTH of them.
although, one of them won't even remember it.

we had a small tea-ish party and celebrated turning 3 and 1.

we had
tea sandwiches
adults: turkey and herb cream cheese
kids: peanut butter and banana
soda in lieu of tea
wanna be caramel popcorn
(the kind that uses the corn puff buttery cheeto things instead of popcorn)
cucumber slices
bite sized granola bars
crackers
and chocolate cake/cupcakes

(recipe and super cute ideas mercilessly lifted from sheena)

i made each of the girls their own mini cake.
and then a half dozen cupcakes and even more mini cupcakes.
i let the kids help frost them and they turned out SO cute.

i also came up with these party crowns, just for the birthday girls.
and bought the party hats for everyone else.
i intended to cover all the party hats with super cute paper and ribbon and stuff, but i totally ran out of time and had to bag it.
as well as the birthday banner i've been planning on making for the past 2 birthdays...
maybe i can get it done for the next one.
i thought i was doing really well with the birthday right after christmas preparations.
but alas, i was not. so, next year i'll hopefully do better.
blah blah blah. yadda yadda.
it was still great and the kids loved it.

and of course we used trick candles.. haha.. i love them.

and layla did the exact same thing jonas did with his first birthday.
taking the no hands approach to the cake.
it was hilarious.
i love that she's licking/biting it.
she barely even got her hands dirty.

OH! and those super cute miniature cake stands that i have the mini cakes on?
my mom gave them to me. i'm totally going to make some for myself. or maybe gifts.
links for tutorials here and here and here.

Read more...