Baby Party

Happy Last Day of September :) So last week I shared that we had a little get-together with some friends to share if we are having a boy or girl. It was SO much fun to get together with some great friends and family. Rob and I had already found out the gender earlier that day at the doctor's office, but wanted to "surprise" some of our sweet friends and family. Two awesome ladies in our Small Group Bible Study helped organize the whole thing and helped make all sorts of yummy goodies - complete with pink and blue iced cookies (made by my little sis), pink and blue chocolate dipped pretzels, pink party punch, blue coffee punch, cupcakes that had blue icing inside (the way we revealed the gender) as well as some savory snacks - I made hummus for the first time (will share the recipe soon :))!

We got a lot of inspiration and some of the recipes from this neat blog :)
Pink Party Punch
1 can of raspberry lemonade concentrate
1 bottle of cold Sprite
1 bottle of cold, carbonated raspberry water
Mix those ingredients and enjoy!

Coffee Punch (dyed blue)
3 cups strong coffee
2 cups sugar
1 pint cream or half and half
1 quart milk
2 t. vanilla
(Some were wary of this one, but it was actually quite fabulous! :))

Everyone put on a blue or pink ribbon pin, depending on what they thought the gender was, as well as gave a name suggestion for a boy or girl. :)

Reading out name suggestions -- lots of great names! And a few silly ones :)

After some hanging out and great fellowship, everyone got a cupcake and we all bit into them at the same time - which revealed blue icing - a boy!! :)
Truly a great time with friends and family - thankful for friends and family that helped celebrate this fun time and this new life God has blessed us with :)

I have had several emails/comments about my weekly menu planning and my weekly food budget of $40-$50 (I am finding that it is more like $50-$55, which is still great to me!). I am working on 2 more weekly menus (and testing out the $$ cost) and will be posting those soon. I will also be posting some tips about finding and keeping a log of the best prices on staples items (flour, salt, sugar, spaghetti noodles, etc.) that I have found work well for me. Be on the lookout for all of this in the next week or two! :) Thank you for your emails and comments! I am excited to share :) If there is anything else you are curious about with my food budget/weekly shopping, or if you have any tips of your own you'd like to share, please comment or email me!

With Fall weather quickly (hopefully) approaching around here, I always like to get all of my fave crockpot recipes out and handy. Love, love, love using my crockpot because 1) it's great to not have to think about cooking dinner come 5pm if you have a busy day, 2) there's nothing like a hot meal on a chilly day and 3) it's fabulous to have your home smell like a scrumptious dinner all day or come home to these wonderful aromas :)

One of my fave recipes is for Beef Brisket. Anything BBQ, Brisket, etc. is always a winner in our home :)

Busy Day Barbeque Beef Brisket (from allrecipes.com)
1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 pounds beef brisket, trimmed of fat
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups barbeque sauce

Combine thyme, paprika, pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and cumin in a small bowl; set aside. Rub brisket all over with liquid smoke, then rub with spice mixture. Pour Worcestershire and barbeque sauces into a slow cooker; place beef on top. Cover, and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours, until fork tender.

What about you? Do you use a crockpot often? Any fabulous go-to recipes? Please share! :)

Tuesday Tutorial: Jack OLantern Jar

With Fall arriving, I'm seeing more and more pumpkins out and about (I love pumpkins). I also saw where someone had used a jar to create a Jack O'Lantern. Brilliant! I decided to try and make one myself. After some trial and error, I came up with some super cute Jack O'Lantern Jars. The fun thing is, you can use a real candle in these, or the battery-operated flickering candles which are safer. These are pretty easy to make, and you can reuse an old jar (yay for repurposing!).

Supplies:
+ Jar (tall or short, your choice!)
+ Orange construction paper -or- Orange tissue paper (I made one with each)
+ Black construction paper
+ ModPodge
+ Foam brush (to apply the ModPodge)
+ Scissors
+ Green ribbon (enough to circle the perimeter of the lip of your jar)
+ Rolling adhesive (to attach the green ribbon)
+ Pencil (to draw a Jack O'Lantern face on the black construction paper before you cut it out ;))
+ Candle (wax or battery-operated)
Begin by painting a layer of ModPodge onto the jar with the foam brush. Adhere the orange construction paper (or tissue paper) up to the neck of the jar and coat with ModPodge (check out a past tutorial about ModPodging to a jar here). The construction paper can be a little frustrating to work with, as it keeps wanting to come un-adhered. I started smoothing the paper down with my fingers and that seemed to help a lot. If you are using tissue paper, be very careful as you coat it with ModPodge. It can and will rip easily.

*Tip: Be careful not to layer the paper a whole lot. The first one I made (the one on the left up top in the header picture) had a bunch of pieces layered and ended up looking a little funny once it had the candle in it. For the next ones I made, I was sure to try and make it with one piece of paper (at least on the front face part).

Once the ModPodge is applied and all the paper is laying down, let dry.
Next, adhere the ribbon to the rim/neck/top lip/whatever that is-part of the jar with rolling adhesive or a little bit of glue. Make sure the ribbon is flush with the top-most part of the jar.
Now, draw and cut out a face from the black construction paper that will fit proportionately on the jar.
Using the ModPodge, adhere the face pieces to the jar (like my Pumpkin Picasso Face? ;)). Smooth out any bubbles or such before you let the ModPodge dry.

(Hmm that looks a little messy... eek! Smooth out the ModPodge with the brush before letting it dry ;))

Voilà! A cute little Jack O'Lantern in a jar! What a great centerpiece for a table... or stick a bunch in a cluster out on the front porch with your pumpkins and other Fall decorations.

Monday Faves

Happy Monday :) I hope you had a fabulous weekend :) We found out Friday that we are having another sweet little boy and are so super excited :) We had a fun get-together with some close friends and family to reveal whether we are having a boy or girl - will post some fun pics and ideas about that later this week. So, some fun faves for today. A random assortment of beautiful goodies. Enjoy :)
1. City Lamp by umbu
2. The Honey Pouch by aylla
3. Love - Fine Art Print by Lori411
4. Shawl the Bubble - Harvest by Clariceonline
5. Hand-Dyed Pillow Cover by JBTucker
6. Mini Monogram Bowl by SayYourPiece
7. Bowl of Buttons - Fine Art Photograph by alicebgardens
8. Sweet Dreams Monacle Button Necklace by ThatOldBlueHouse2

That's right! We found out we have another sweet boy on the way :) We are so incredibly excited :) Baby looked healthy and super active (and is liking to keep me awake at night ;)). Now to pick out a name...

We get to find out if baby is a boy or girl today! Yay! So super exited to be able to see baby again via ultrasound and check on how everything is progressing. We are having a small get together with some close family and friends tonight to announce whether we are having a boy or girl :) Yay for food, fun and fellowship :) Will post about if baby is a boy or girl here soon :) Have a fabulous weekend :)

Eating.

Oh Panera, how I love you. I got to have a fun lunch date with my hubby today and we went to Panera - we haven't been in so long. I was delightfully reminded of how amazing their food is. The Frontega Chicken Sandwich and Caesar Salad are always my choice :) Mmmm :)

A quick and inexpensive meal we like to fix is Taco Salad - complete with fresh Romaine lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese (or a Mexican cheese blend) black beans, tortilla chips and homemade taco seasoning. The taco seasoning is quick to make and makes a fair amount :)

Taco Seasoning (from allrecipes.com)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Use and store leftover seasoning in an airtight container. Enjoy! :)

Hello, Fall: Mixed Paper and Fabric Mini Album

 I decided to make an art journal/mini album to hold and document all of our Fall activities :) This journal is similar to the Jotter Journal, only with a fabric cover to make it more permanent and relate to the season :) I made mine 5.5"x8" so that the insides could hold (approximately) 5"x7" items/pictures. I like the messy-ness of the journal - the organic feel. Threads poking out here and there, the stitches not entirely straight - it doesn't have to be perfect! :)

Supplies:
+ 2 pieces of fabric for the cover (one piece for the outside, one for the inside) each 8"x11"-- I also ironed medium-weight fusible interfacing onto both pieces of fabric to make it sturdier.
+ Multiple types of paper (or you could use all lined paper or blank paper!) - I used fall-themed papers, flashcards, tags, envelopes, a transparency, some vintage papers and new papers.
+ Decorative Button
+ 6" of decorative ribbon
+ Rotary cutter, metal ruler and cutting mat
+ Sewing machine & thread
Start by getting the cover ready. I added an extra scrap piece of fall-themed fabric to the front of my front cover by simply stitching it on.

Sew the button onto the front cover piece approximately 2.5" from the side and in the middle of the top and bottom.

With both right sides facing out, pin the two pieces together and sew around the perimeter with a zig-zag stitch. Be sure to put the ribbon in between the two pieces and secure with a pin. As you sew around, the ribbon will become attached (Attach the ribbon to the opposite side from the button - see picture below).

The finished cover.

Next, make a template for the inside pages. I cut down a piece of cardstock to 7"x10" and then folded it in half and stitched a straight stitch through it.

Now, stack all of your different papers together, flush against the bottom right (see picture below). Attach 2 binder clips or paper clips to hold them all in place.

Place the template you just made so it is flush in the bottom right as well. On your stack of paper, make a mark with pencil where the fold on the template is- at the top and bottom of the template.

Feel free to draw a straight line connecting the two marks you just made. Now sew a straight stitch on that line (depending on how many sheets you have, it might be a little difficult to sew-- I had 16 sheets and had to hand crank the sewing machine... I was praying that it wouldn't break my needle ;)).
Trim off the excess with your template as a guide.
Now it's time to attach it to the cover. Place the paper booklet so that it is in the middle of the cover piece and sew another straight stitch. This extra stitch (instead of sewing it straight into the cover) also helps reinforce how the pages are bound together.
Voilà! The finished album! A perfect way to record all of your fun Fall festivities :)

Monday Faves: Welcome Fall

Happy Monday! And Happy-Almost-Start-of-Fall :) I am loving all of the fall colors starting to show up, the pumpkins, the corn husks, the big jugs of apple cider at Target.....mmmm :) Even though the temperatures here are anything but fall (92 degrees today), everyone keeps talking about how fall is in the air and hopefully will be feeling like it soon :)

+ What about you? Are your weather temperatures cooling down? Are the trees starting to turn? I love how different parts of the country and world have different time tables for when the seasons start to change, how neat is that :)

+ Any fun fall traditions out there that you and yours do every fall? I know we can't wait to go to the pumpkin patch and ride on the hay wagon :) Be on the lookout for a fun diy project/tutorial tomorrow on compiling a fall journal. :)

So, a few fall-inspired-for-me lovelies for today. I love the rich tones of the fall season, and all of these finds reminded me of those! Enjoy and have a fabulous day :)

1. Bliss Bracelet: Agate by BeadsStory
2. Autumn Garlands Linen Pouch by PilliPillihandmade
3. Vintage Buttons from BusyBree
4. Everyday Bag - Caramel Knitted by NzLbags
5. Friendly Forest Crisp Autumn Day Collection by psitsinthedetails
6. Two of Hearts Bowls by redhotpottery
7. Rather Vintage Scrap Kit from magpiemary
8. Vintage Salad Bowl Set from everyeskimo
9. Fabric Destash - Jewel Tones 150 Pieces from magpiemary

Friday: The Flour Pot

Yay for Friday! Looking forward to the weekend - a couch date with my hubby tonight (we order Chinese and rent a movie and eat after Jimmy has gone to bed), some family time, and a neighborhood cookout tomorrow night to meet and greet with neighbors :) Always a fun time :)

So, one of my fave blogs to visit is Twig & Thistle (can we just talk about how that blog is so incredibly full of inspiration!? Love it.) - and I love the posts on "Well Branded" businesses, companies, etc. The latest one was for The Flour Pot Bakery in Gainesville, Florida. How brilliant is this branding, created by Sara Nicely?! The menu on the baguette bag. So incredibly simple and absolutely fabulous. How delightful!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Last weekend, on our way home from High Point, we stopped at a huge outlet store - with tons of stuff you don't really need ;) Nevertheless, I love looking through outlet stores, flea markets, antique malls, etc. because you never know when you'll find a gem :) I found this fabulous little book in the book section - Flea Market Baby by Barri Leiner and Marie Moss. And for a great price, I just couldn't pass it up. The book is absolutely delightful, with beautiful photographs and writings about finding vintage items to decorate, collect and gift-give for baby. "A must-have retro registry of old-fashioned finds for a new generation" (Flea Market Baby).

And not only are the photographs and writing simply fabulous, the layout (read: graphic design) of the book is wonderfully done- always a breath of fresh air :)

I thought it nicely appropriate to purchase the book with baby on the way, and the fact that I love anything vintage- so of course, a book about baby-related vintage things was great to come across. Although, I probably would still have purchased it even if we didn't have baby on the way - it is just that great of a sweet little book. :)

So, whether or not you do have a baby on the way, this book is a fabulous collection of vintage and kitschy items that bring back memories of a seemingly simpler time. :)

All images in this post are excerpted from the book Flea Market Baby © 2003

Thai Coconut Curry Goodness

So I haven't been eating a whole ton of meat (especially red) lately (read: not.wanting.it.hardly.at.all), and luckily I have a friend who is a vegetarian and has all sorts of amazing recipes. This is one of my absolute faves and is great if you are in the mood for a hearty but meatless dish. I modified the recipe a little bit, and also used chicken stock because I had it on hand. If you want to make it strictly vegetarian, be sure to use veggie stock.
Thai Coconut Curry Goodness
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 jar of mild curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup vegetable (I used chicken) stock
2 cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 or 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 lime (or lime juice to taste)
½ bunch cilantro (or to taste)

Over medium heat, pour olive oil in a deep skillet or wok. Measure out 1 tbsp. curry paste (found in the international aisle) per each person serving in deep skillet. Cook four about 2 minutes until paste is more of a liquid consistency. Turn heat up to medium-high and add 1 can of coconut milk (also found in the international aisle), 1/2 c veggie stock and bring to boil. Add the butter beans, green onions, tomatoes and simmer 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedge squeezed over. Serve over rice with naan or pita (or French bread if that's all you have on hand, like I did ;)). Enjoy!

Ingredients

Chopping the veggies. Yummy!

Heating up the curry paste.

Curry paste and coconut milk

Simmering.

Voilà! A yummy dish :)