Buttermilk Pancakes

We've had a sick baby the last few days. In fact, I wouldn't have posted the last few days, had I not pre-written the posts... Sneaky, I know. One thing that I feel like is always necessary when someone in the family is sick, is comfort food. I'm not even sick and I have felt like its been necessary. We had pizza two nights ago, pancakes yesterday morning for breakfast, meatloaf for dinner last night and pancakes again this morning. Comfy! Like, I need to work out twice today comfy. Haha. I love breakfast foods. There are not many breakfasts that I don't like. Whenever Princess always asks for a "treat" after breakfast, I always say, "That WAS a treat!" I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes for Buttermilk Pancakes....just in time for the long weekend. Seriously, these are so yummy.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Flour
3 Tbls. Sugar
1 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 1/2 Cups low fat or fat free Buttermilk
1 Tbls. melted Butter
1 Egg
(I also feel like its mandatory to have a side of sausage or bacon with these as well)

Mix all dry ingredients together with a fork.

Slightly beat the egg and then add egg, buttermilk and butter to the dry ingredients.

Pour batter onto nonstick pan and cook about 3 minutes per side on medium to medium low. Watch for the bubbles to appear before flipping.

See the bubbles?

Makes about 8 decent sized pancakes. Serve warm with butter, syrup or anything your heart desires!

The buttermilk makes these so tangy! In a really good, interesting way.

Deliciousness!

Hope everyone is healthy and happy and that you all have a relaxing 3 day weekend!

Binky/ Nuk Strap

Happy Thursday! I'm so excited for the upcoming 3 day weekend! That third day, just makes all the difference in the world. Its totally like a mini vacation. I think all weekends should be three days long. The work week would be so much more do-able. European countries really know what they are doing. They have no qualms with taking days off, or pausing for an hour or two during the day for nap time. Ugh! Why couldn't I have been born in Italy!? France would work too. We are going away for the weekend. It should be so nice. The hardest part about leaving for a weekend is packing. I HATE packing. Its such a pain to try and predict what outfits you will need/ want to wear when you are there. And for the girls its even worse....its like, how many diapers do I think they will go through? And, how many outfits are they going to go through? What toys are they interested in right now? Oh and don't forget the blankies, nuks, bunnies and the "Chewy"(Princess's stuffed animal cat). Once you get in the car though, its all worth it. You can start to relax (or at least I can; the husband drives :)) and it feels like your vacation has started. Anyways! Speaking of nuks.... Peanut's nuk straps have a way of getting really disgusting. I was looking at it the other day and I thought it wouldn't be too hard to make a new one using some new ribbon and the old metal parts of the strap. So here goes...

You will need:
An old stinky nuk strap
Brand new grosgrain ribbon, 1 inch wide (If you don't know what grosgrain ribbon is, its that ribbon with ridges on it. A lady at the store can help you as well)
A basic sewing kit or sewing machine
Trusty scissors
A lighter

1. Start by cutting the strap off of the metal parts.

2. Use a seam ripper and take the velcro off the strap. You could also use new velcro, I just didn't have any.

3. Cut about 12 inches of the new grosgrain ribbon.

4. Sew on the metal hook part onto one end of the ribbon.

Sew here.

5. About 6 inches from that same end, sew on one of the pieces of velcro.

6. Fold over the other end and sew closed. Then use your lighter and burn the edges of the ribbon so that they don't fray.



7. Then sew the second piece of velco on the very end. (Use the old Nuk strap as your pattern. It will show you about how far to space the velcro).

8. Then you're done!

Ready for hookup.

I think she likes it.

Such an easy fix and I love that you can pick out your own ribbon. Peanut has a second nuk strap that I think I will do it to, but it doesn't have any velcro....so I will have to get some. I only wish that there was some where to find the metal hook part so that I could make a whole bunch! Baby shower presents or something. I will have to look at the fabric store the next time I'm there. There probably is. Those stores are always surprising me.

Fabric Necklace

I kind of like fashion....ok, I ADORE fashion. I love pretty much everything about it. The brands, the advertising, the models, and all the cuteness that can be found in something such as a dumb little purse. There are some that like to say that fashion doesn't matter, that its all just shallow people who only care about brands....which, I guess some people are like that. But its so much more than that. The confidence that a well made dress or a good pair of jeans can bestow on a person is incredible. You can win a job interview or catch a guy's eye, simply because the clothes you are wearing make you feel confident and that confidence radiates. A homeless man, beard and all, could be wearing a well tailored suit and you would think he was worth a million bucks. I love that fashion can do that. I love that it can transform a person.

All that being said, there's nothing better than getting things cheap or on sale! Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the cheap stuff, but the magic is when you get both something that is cheap AND well made. The thrill of it! Its amazing. I think that's why, when I find a craft that shows you a way to MAKE fashion for super cheap AND still be cute; I'm like why the heck not?

I saw a similar version of this necklace in the Spring/Summer line of the Tea catalog. (If you aren't familiar with the brand and you have kids, you should be). I thought, "That is so freaking adorable and I bet I can make that!" I really love that its such a simple necklace that it totally makes sense for a toddler to wear. I mean, they're kids, they can't really wear real jewelery without breaking it or swallowing it. Another thing I like is that it is versatile enough to be a woman's necklace as well. It Summery! And you know I'm excited about Summer, because I talk about it in just about every post. Anyway, here it is.

You will need:
A very long strip of fabric (I kept having to add to it, but I think I ended up with about 80X4.5 inches)
Wooden beads or wooden balls
Scissors
(And you definitely don't need the fabric glue that's pictured. I wasn't sure if I would or not, but the knots keep it all very tight, they won't go anywhere)
A sewing machine or needle and thread

I've had these old pajama pants sitting in my sewing box forever...waiting for a craft!

Watch for the leftovers in a future craft!

 1. Cut a very long strip. Approximately 80X4.5 inches. It seems long, but the knots take up a lot of fabric.

 2. Fold in half lengthwise and sew along the long side to close it, with about a 1/2 inch inseam (remember ugly sides out) keeping both ends of the strip open, then flip it right side out (It takes awhile).

It should be about 1.5 inch to 2 inches wide when the sides are closed. Just enough to fit the beads in.

3. Then place a bead in the strip and bring it to the middle. Make a simple knot on either side of the bead. Then alternate bead, knot, bead, knot, until you get it as long as you want it to be. Make sure to leave enough room on both ends so that you can still tie it around your neck.

This is about how much I left that the ends of mine. But you could leave more. Mine ties in a knot, but if it was longer it could be tied in a bow.

4. Sew the ends closed. I did mine diagonally for a little interest, but you could sew it straight across. 

Finished product.

Here's what it looks like on an adult. ME!

And here's what it looks like on a much smaller, cuter model. Princess!

Adorbs!

Then that's it. You have a cute (and cheap) necklace that can make any t-shirt and jeans combo just a little bit better. Enjoy!

Embellished Baby T-Shirt

Good morning! Hope everyone is having a great week.
I got this plain, white, 18 months t-shirt handed down to me the other day and I was so excited because my brain was immediately thinking of ways to make it new (and of how to hide the few stains that were on it). This is a super easy thing to do if you are ever wanting to change up an old t-shirt or hide a stain or two. It maybe took a total of 5 minutes. Sewing is optional also. I chose to sew the patch on, but you can also just glue it with a little fabric glue...that stuff is surprisingly strong.

For this project you will need:
An old T-shirt
Fabric scraps
Needle
Thread (you could use normal white thread, but I decided to use floss)
Scissors
and/or Fabric glue

First make sure that the shirt has been washed. If there happen to be any stains on it that you are trying to hide, it could bleed through onto your new shirt.

Cut a piece of scrap fabric into any shape you like. A star, heart, cat, owl....anything!  I chose a heart because it was the only shape I could handle without a stencil or something.

If you fold the fabric in half and cut a half heart, then it will make a pretty even heart.

Then either glue on the piece or sew it on. I glued it first, then sewed around the edge (about 1/4 inch from the edge) with embroiderer's floss. I thought it would add a little more interest that way.

I made the stitches pretty big on purpose. :)

And that's it! One of the easiest upgrades ever.

Here it is on the model

"I'm too cute for this shirt!"

For washing, you should be able to wash it normally, in cold water. But I would try to hang it to dry as much as possible. The more you dry it, the more the unfinished edge of the heart will get ruffled. It can be cute like that, but if you don't want that aged look, then make sure to hang it dry.

Garage Sale Treasures

Sleeping in is so delicious...We somehow got to sleep in both mornings this weekend and it was SO NICE! We must have abnormal children. They will sleep in on weekends a lot, and when they actually do wake up, they just play and talk to each other. Sisters! Its so sweet. Since we did get that nice treat, we sacrificed a little garage sale-ing time. Our neighborhood only allows a few garage sales a year, so everyone has a garage sale at once. Its amazing. There is so much stuff! It would have been nice to walk (the weather wasn't great) but you can cover more ground if you drive. There are so many to see in such a short period of time and once you get going, its so addicting. Just one more! Oh, wait! There's one right there! It was fun. So I didn't get all that much, but I am very excited about what I did find. And I think I spent a total of $8. Big spender!

We were so excited to find this rocking chair. My in-laws have a mini rocking chair like this at their house and Princess has always been obsessed with it. I think I'm gonna paint it white. We got it for $5....like really? Pretty awesome. We were even more excited when we found a similar (unfinished one) at Michael's that was $50 bucks. Yeah, I think we struck gold.

This was definitely the most exciting find.

Here are the rest of my treasures. A t-shirt (that was $1) cause her highness is in need of Summer clothes. Stop growing!! 2 stamps (these are so expensive at the store) and a star shaped hole punch (I think those were a total of $1.50) and a cute wooden toy that I just couldn't pass up. Wooden toys are so great because they last forever. Who knows how old this one is or how many generations it has been around for. So cool to think about. It says on the bottom that it was made in Alaska. I thought about painting it, but I don't know. I might keep it as is for now.

So I didn't get quite as much loot as I wanted to, but at least I didn't strike out completely. It did inspire quite a few projects. But it was kind of a nice surprise, the day after the garage sale a friend gave me a whole huge bin of hand me downs to look through for the girls and I did got quite a nice pile of stuff from her.  Here are some of the things that I plan on recreating into other things.

This was all FREE!

The dress on the left, I thought could be remade into a different style of dress or I could cut it up and turn it into something completely new. It still has the tags on it! It just not my style though, so it may be used for its fabric only. The white T-shirt on the top, I am going to add some kind of embellishment to it in the next few days to cover some stains it has. Its 18months. For the Peanut. She has so many clothes from her big sister and she certainly doesn't need any more shirts, but I thought it would be a fun craft. The green skirt on the right I think I will cut up as well. Its a handmade piece. Then the silvery skirt I thought would be perfect for a dress up bin for the girls. I am working on building their collection of dress up. I think its necessary for a girl to have an ample dress up collection. Princess LOVES to dress up and is always telling us, "I'm a princess!" So I think she will be excited about it as well.

Then of top of all those goodies, I also got to make a trip to Michael's for some crafting supplies. Here are the goods I got there.

Now that I am all stocked up its time to get crafting!

Brooke's 10 Beautiful Finds Under $40

I am a subscriber to Real Simple Magazine and one of my favorite things to look at each month is their 10 finds under $50 page. They always have such cute things and it seems to have a way of inspiring me to uh, shop? Not that I need any inspiring for that. Sorry Babe! But at any rate its at least fun to look at fun and new products, even if it is what I call, "Dream Shopping". So I decided that once or twice a month I will do a post that shows 10 of MY finds and I will make it a little more exciting (and possibly more shopable) by lowering the highest price to $40. There are my finds for May:

1. Jurlique Rose Hand Cream $25.00 at Sephora.com
I love this brand so much. They have a few simple but classic fragrances such as Rose, Jasmine and Lavender and they are a good natural product. I just bought their Antioxidant Face Mask, it so soothing and doesn't feel like it dries you out. I am always needing lotion because my hands are always so dry and this just looks yummy.

2. Bla Bla Kids Lunch Tote $28.00, blablakids.com I love the Bla Bla dolls so much. My daughters each have one. Their whole line is so cute and original. The have knit dolls that are life sized! I thought this lunch bag was very nostalgic. Would have been so fun to have as a kid to take to school, but it is also grown up enough to take to work!

3. West Elm Napkins $16.00 for a set of 4, westelm.com. The simplicity of these patterns are great. They can go with many different styles of kitchen. 

4. Glass Pearl Earrings at shopbop.com $18.00 I feel like every girl needs a pair of diamond studs and pearl studs. I am lacking the pearl studs and I need to change it up! These are so classic and elegant....and cheap. 

5. Star Frozen Pop Molds, set of 6 for $12.95 williams-sonoma.com. We are in the market for some Popsicle molds. Summer is coming! These are so cute and BPA free! They also have a pushpop Popsicle mold. Genius for kids.

6. Solar Jars, amazon.com. Price ranges from $20-$25. These things are so cool! They are "green" because they recharge themselves sitting in the sun during the day and you can use them as nightlights for your kids or put them in your outdoor space for parties. I love these! There is a way to DIY these, but when looking at the tutorials it was way too complicated for me. So this is one thing I would rather buy than make myself. Plus, I don't think the price is very different once you pay for all the parts you need.

7. Bunny Stamp, $24.00 Anthropologie.com What a cool thing to have. It comes in a few different kinds of animals...the owl is especially cute. How neat would it be to have your own signature stamp to put on cards, letters, etc.? And it looks adorable sitting on your desk. Anthro rocks my world. 

8. Goodnight Moon Free People Sunglasses $18.00 freepeople.com Of course, I had to have something from Free People on here. My very favorite clothing line. I'll admit, its a little hard to find things under $40 on their website (unless you're on the Sale page). But my gosh all their stuff is so great. I have 2 of their sunglasses now. The best part about them is they are cheap. I am always breaking my sunnies because I throw them in my purse and they get smooshed. (I have a sunglass case, but who has time for that?) So sunglasses that are less than $20 is usually my budget. I thought these were perfect with Summer coming around the corner. And they are SO Janis Joplin. Love!

9. Old Navy The Rockstar Super White Skinnies. $19.00, oldnavy.com. These will go perfect with my chambray top and I can't wait to get a pair! How can you beat $19 for a pair of jeans! Old Navy commercials are to say it nicely....terrible! But hey, they have great deals! These are perfect for Spring and Summer. 

10. Hairbands Solid Vintage Set, shopbop.com $36.00. Okay, so you can get these for way cheaper other places....Urban Outfitters is one of them. But I really like this neutral color combo. Every girl NEEDS these things for Summer. They are so cute to wear around your wrist and they dont kink your hair. Princess and Peanut already have some of their own and they barely have hair! I have seen that you can make these as well. So if I ever find the materials for them I will do a DIY on it. :)

Okay, now that I've done my free advertising for the day, its time for me to go enjoy the rest of my weekend. Hope you all had a beautiful and relaxing weekend!

A Springtime Walk

Yesterday after getting done with work I was completely exhausted. Not much different than any day, but even more so. Ever have those days where work just SUCKS the life and soul out of you? Yeah, me too. I should have worked out. I haven't worked out nearly as much as I would like to lately. But I just couldn't. It was partly sunny outside so I decided to take the babes on a walk so I could get a breath of fresh air. As much as I love getting all my aggression out during a workout, sometimes a walk is just more refreshing. I'm so glad I did.
I love living in Washington. It so green and lush and calming. And I LOVE the rain....it soothes the soul. But it wasn't raining. It was clear, but with large fluffy clouds in the sky and the temperature was perfect. The sun was just starting to go down and it made the trees and nature around us glow. I packed up some old crusty bread and we headed for one of the neighboring duck ponds. It was simply lovely. No one was there but us; the only sounds were the bullfrogs in the pond, the ducks wading their way over to us and an occasional "clink" from the golfcourse nearby. Princess loved throwing the bread to the ducks. Although after awhile she just kept throwing them one after the other without waiting for the ducks to eat them. Peanut just sat in the stroller watching us, occasionally thinking it was funny that we were throwing things at the ducks.
We started to walk around the pond, to see what other views there were, when all of the sudden a bunch of crows swarmed above us, I was looking down at my camera when there was a large splashing noise and the crows around us cawed incessantly. I looked up and a large bald eagle was flying away with a fish in its claws! I pointed it out to Princess, but I don't think she saw it. It was amazing. A sign or something right? It all happened so fast. I was sad that I didn't catch it on the camera that was IN MY HANDS!! So typical right? You go on a walk to connect with nature and the one second you take to play with your technology you MISS the most amazing sight! Ugh! I was glad that I caught even the smallest sight of it at any rate.
The good part about me having my camera with me is that I got some good shots along the way so that I can share with you. Here they are.

Here they come!

About to fall in!

"Cheese!"

Hanging out in the UppaBaby

Our friends

Princess LOVES her flowers

Making a wish

Entrance to the fairy forest

"Look Momma, a bunny!"

And of course we had to make a stop at her favorite spot, the park. I would have taken more pictures, but she literally just does the slide over and over and over....

And that was the end of our Springtime walk. So peaceful and refreshing. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place.

On a final note, we are going garage sale-ing tommorow, so I hope to find lots of cool things for future projects. I am going to be on the lookout for, furniture (that can be refinished and remade), fabrics (that can be used for various crafts) and any other interesting things to fix up. I will post my finds over the weekend and you can keep your eye out for them in future posts! Have a great weekend!