Category: Uncategorized

It’s the beginning of another busy week, after yet another busy weekend and who want’s to think about cooking?  Not me… which is why tonight (in between post-school chaos and pre-family-haircuts) we’ll be dining gourmet style, enjoying white cheddar mac-n-cheese (from a box!) and frozen pizza.  Yum.  (Blech!)

The second week after payday, I try to postpone the grocery expedition as long as possible and get us as close to the next payday as I can without doing a big shop.   This means my meals don’t tend to be quite as creative though.  (Or maybe they’re more creative…but not as exciting!)   Last week’s meal plan went pretty well – although we didn’t get to the Fiesta Chicken Soup.  In no particular order, here’s what’s on the current menu in the Brown household:

Week 2:

• Mac-n-Cheese with frozen Pizza
• Dutch Meatball Soup (I can never get mine to taste like Mom’s, Beppe’s or Oma’s… what’s the secret?)
• Shepherd’s Pie (this will NOT go over well with the monkeys, but I enjoy it!)
• Peanut Chicken with Coconut Basmati (I know two fabulous Epicure reps if you want to try the recipe… but storebought sauce – or your own concoction – would work just as well.
• Lasagna & Caesar Salad
• Honey Mustard Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, Salad & Fresh Cut Veggies
• Chicken Fajitas

and a spare:

• Cheesy Pasta Bake

Don’t forget to share your favourite quick and easy dinner ideas!  And if anyone knows the secret to the soup (ahem, cough, cough – Mom!) wanna let me in on it?!

Today, the boys – meaning Kaleb, Justin and the 9 year old who is spending the PA Day at our house – played board games and Wii.   This means while the 15-month old (who we also babysit) went down for his nap, I grabbed that spare hour to create this adorable wreath.  Total crafting time?  Less than an hour if you don’t include waiting for the mod-podge to dry.

This is inspired by the Kaisercraft Star Wreath I’ve blogged about earlier (here) but this one is completely my own creation.

I have boys… not big fans of pinks or reds but I wanted a pretty Valentine’s Wreath.  I decided to go with a fun and bright colour scheme and the AC Everyday papers were perfect.

Here are the steps:

1) On the reverse side of patterned paper, trace hearts (or other shape) face side down.  
2)  I’ve decided you could probably skip the painting… but that’s hindsight!)   Paint the hearts with the acrylic paint, front and sides first.  Allow to dry.
3) While paint is drying, cut out shapes from paper and set aside.
4) If paint is dry, flip hearts over and paint the reverse side.
5) When paint is completely dry, apply mod-podge to hearts and adhere patterned papers.  Seal with mod-podge if desired.
6) When mod-podge has dried, distress edges of hearts.  You could use a sanding block but I cheated and used the fluid chalk.
7)  Hot glue hearts in desired layout to wooden wreath form.
8)  Embellish as desired.  I might add some buttons or trim to mine at a later date.   We’ll see…
9) Trim ribbon to appropriate length and attach to back of wreath.   
10)  Admire your work and hang where desired.

Fun & simple but oh-so-cute.  Probably cost me less than $25 to put together.   Easy to customize for any occasion or decor using different shapes and papers – Christmas, Easter, Spring, Etc.   I love it!!!  This will definitely be one I’m adding to my easy-to-make-but-fabulous-gift file!

Time for another new feature.  I figure if I know I have to come up with an entry on regular topics with a modicum (ooh fancy word!) of variety, I might just manage to not go weeks without blogging anything.  Welcome to the new installment of “Wishlist Wednesday”. 

Today’s wishlist features built-ins, organization and decor I would love to see in my house one day:

1.  I’m craving wall to wall bookshelves in the living room.  Not quite sure how it would work as the window frame on the west wall sits under the recess of the bulkhead where the bookshelves would be.
2.  Cube display shelves.   Between the living room and so-called dining room we have a half-wall with no function whatsoever.  I would like to add cubes and possibly recessed lights to make it a display shelf of sorts.

3.  This picture doesn’t quite show what I’d like, but it gives you an idea.  The depth of the fireplace and space between the windows would be ideal to incorporate some shelves or media cabinets when we finally get around to finishing the fireplace.  We would of course add a mantle and trim and hopefully the tv will be wall mounted above.

4.  I really want an entryway bench or table with some shelving above.  I love this one from Pottery Barn but it costs a fortune!  Maybe I can thrift something and give it a paint job over the summer. 

5.  I fell in love with these decorative plates from Pier1 the very first time I saw them.   Initially I wanted them for the dark wall in the living room… but if you refer back to item #1 on the wishlist, there just wouldn’t be anywhere to hang them.  We could alter the bookcase idea to work around it though.   If that’s a no-go I have a lovely little wall in the eat-in kitchen that would be perfect for these plates.

Happy Wednesday!

I think this will be another regular feature… first you’ve got your “Five On Friday” and now you’ll get “Menu Mayhem Monday”.   I used to (at one time or another or another) actually plan our meals for the week,  flip through collected recipes, assemble a grocery list, buy the actual required groceries and be able to look at the fridge any one day and choose from multiple meal options (including a spare) – all with the confidence that I wouldn’t run out of item A or  ingredient B at any time during prep.  Then life took over and I lost one more aspect of my organization and the grocery store blitz or quick run for bread/milk/eggs became the norm, mealtime became a disaster and we often have too much of this or not enough that in the cupboards at any given time.

So… duh, duh, duh, DUH… without further ado, I present my week of meals, as planned yesterday for “Menu Mayhem Monday”,  a collection of 7+ meals to get me through the week’s meal prep sanely (although the actual consumption is another story…)

Week 1:

• Glazed Maple Chicken with Carmelized PearsThis is what we had for dinner tonight, served with white rice and a healthy side of cucumbers.  1 1/2 monkey approval rating (Kaleb loved the chicken but the pears made him gag – that kid has texture issues!)
• Mexican Baked Penne (originally from Today’s Parent but I can’t find the recipe.  Basically it’s prepared penne with ground meat, corn, black beans – which we omit because Kevin has bean issues – tossed with salsa and cheese, then baked.
• Ribs, Twice Baked Potatoes, Salad & Fresh Cut Veggies
• Easy Jambalaya
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Mini Pita Pizzas and Fiesta Chicken Soup (the soup will be a first for us… but it sounds yummy!)
• Chicken Fingers, Sweet Potato Fries and Mixed Veggies

and a spare

• Spaghetti & Meatballs

Now… the plan itself is a start but I never did make it to the grocery store.  I don’t plan on heading out tonight.  However, if everything goes as planned, I can head over with Justin tomorrow while Kaleb’s at school and we can eliminate some of this week’s mealtime mayhem – if not, we’ll have to resort to chicken fingers or the spare (neither are Mommy’s favourites!)

Happy eating 🙂

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.  I know many view it as just another over-commercialised Hallmark holiday and think we should express our love and appreciation for the important people in our lives on a regular basis (and I tend to agree in theory)… BUT it’s also an excellent excuse for some extra-special themed family time, crafting with the day care kiddos, yummy menu planning and on-my-own projects. 

As I searched for some creative inspiration, I came across a few fun projects that we’ll be trying.  I also found some fun new blog favourites that I’ve added to my reading list.  There are so many thrify/organized/talented/creative people in this world.    It makes me realise that I have a long way to go to perfect my skills and I need to take some serious time to find a place for everything (although have the battle is keeping it there!) I also need to ‘think’ more before jumping into things… planning things out, looking at alternatives, etc.    I want to start ‘thrifting’ more… but I know I’ll end up with great pieces and no real plan. 

Anyhow, here are some of the fab new blogs I’ve scoped out, linked to the projects or posts that first caught my eye:

• Hello My Name Is Heather
• Just For Rachel
• Craft Goodies
• live.life.create.art
• Haute Apple Pie

So those are some of my new inspirations… of course, the posts I linked too aren’t the only great ideas.  You can click, click, click and these ladies have great recipes, ideas and more.   Sometimes I just like the way they approach (and share about) their lives.

How do you show your loved ones that they’re – well –  loved? (or well-loved as the case may be.)  Do you have special traditions, projects, meals, etc?  Do you do a date-night, exchange cards or gifts? Or is it just another day and nothing extra special?  Share any fun ideas you have!  I’m off to tackle the reorganization (which seems to be an ongoing effort) of my craft room.  I think part of the problem is the craft room doubles as spare room with a bed that’s much too large, extra-clothes storage, misc. home/office/whatever items get dumped in here and I haven’t removed all the extra nursery tidbits (rocker, hamper, etc.) yet.  (I am attempting a wooden heart wreath – pilfering the idea from the Kaisercraft star wreath I will eventually tackle.  I was all gung-ho to get started…and once I dug out the wooden circle base realised it’s much larger than I remembered and don’t have the ‘heart’ to finish as desired.  If everything was where it belonged, and I didn’t have to wade through piles of non-craft items, I would have known this weeks ago!)

I’ve decided to add some regular installments to my blog.   The first is going to be “Five On Friday”, a quick-read Top-5 list featuring whatever strikes my fancy each week.   For our premeir Five On Friday, I’m featuring something I often dream about – read on!

Top Five Destinations I’d Like To Visit
As Influenced By Fiction

In no particular order:

1) Vienna, Austria
2) Puget Sound region, Washington State
3) Italy
4) Lake Tahoe, California & Nevada
5) Outer Banks, North Carolina

Now, who’d like to contribute to my travel fund?

Ok… just a quick little funny. 
My knowledge of the current pop music scene is pretty much nil.  I couldn’t tell Justin Bieber from Miley Cyrus.  Unfortunately, the kids who infiltrate our home we have the privilege of watching each and every day have provided a little bit of pop exposure in their karaoke-style renditions of some hits that I have never heard before.  Yes, I live a sheltered life.

Well, Justin (my Justin that is) thinks it’s just wonderful that there is someone out there named Justin “Beaver” who sings.  He even knows a line “Baby, baby, baby, ooooh!” which I hear repeatedly throughout the day.  That’s it, just one line.   The funny thing is he croons it out pretty well… he gets that “ooooh!” just right and does it quite loud and then refers to himself as Justin “Beaver.”  *sigh*

Kaleb provided the humour, beyond Justin belting it out during lunch today, by changing the lyrics.   He has his mommy’s love for pop music and is quite comfortable poking fun.  Yeah, Kaleb’s lyrics?  “Justin Bieber has rabies, rabies, rabies….oh!”   Which of course resulted in a round of genuine hysterical giggles from the two of them, to the point Mommy couldn’t help cracking up to the point of tears.

Nothing like hearing those belly laughs! Haha I love my kids!

Second… I wish I could sew.  Seriously, I own a sewing machine but I can’t sew a straight line if my life depended on it.  A class is on that to-do list… but that to-do list is a mile long!

Altered Canvas Squares Scrapbooks Etc.

Simple & straightforward, right? Especially for someone who uses the same technique to create photo stars.  Yeah, not so much.  They failed to mention that the canvas and paper don’t really adhere that well together, modge-podge or not… and it wrinkles like crazy.  After it’s wrinkled and everything has dried, it also tends to pull up at the corners.   I’m so very very disappointed.  All in all, it was a less than $30 disaster.  My Amy Butler (my baby sling was the same fabric line!) paper pad was less than $10, I had the Mod-Podge.  Acrylic paint was $.50 and I had a foam brush.  Canvases were in a bulk pack on sale at Michaels, 10 for $19.   I’m just not happy though – cost or not – it did not live up to my ideal and I was really, really counting on a unique but inexpensive decor idea.

Lemmetellya, boys are a handful the best of times, especially my two little monkeys (who I’m realising aren’t so little anymore!)  Kevin is in Ypsilanti, MI, training on a new printer.  He left Monday morning for work and from work that afternoon, headed to the States.  I’ve been parenting on my own since then and being left with the two of the boys 24 hours a day for more than one day running gives me a healthy respect for single parents who manage to hold it all together.  The first two days were fine but this morning, both boys were cranky and they seem to have developed the ability to block out Mommy’s voice – everything from simple instructions (“Put on your socks.”) to simple questions (“What do you want for breakfast?”) to simple rules (“Hands off!) has been met with temper tantrums, tears, screaming and more.  The bickering and obnoxiousness is at an all time high today and I’m eagerly awaiting bedtime just for some silence in the house!

Tomorrow evening, Kevin will return and all will be right with my world again!  I miss him… but I’ve also found some benefits to the situation.

Pros to Having the House to Myself:
1) No one steals the comforter at night.  I don’t freeze!
2) I get the remote.  I can watch “Cake Boss: Next Great Baker” and any other number of TLC programs without anyone groaning about it.  Even better, I can leave the tv off entirely – amazing!
3) Dinner is a no-work, no-fuss affair.  So far the boys have had (at their choice) frozen pizza, hot dogs and tonight will be ham & cheese pitas.  My culinary skills have gone on vacation and I’ve been eating light (fruit, yogurt, etc.)
4) No one’s alarm is going off an hour earlier than it needs to.  My alarm is set with me to hit snooze once and that’s it, I’m up.  No waking at 6 am to elbow Kevin to get him to deal with his alarm an hour before I need to get up!

Now the cons:
1) There is no one sharing the bed.  I miss the warmth.  My feet stay frozen all night long and it’s harder to fall asleep without a body to cuddle.
2) Mommy is the go-to for everything without a break.  No chance to relax, shower or even pee in peace until kids’ are tucked in at night.  Even then it’s a good half-hour before all is calm.
3) The mealtime battles are all fought solo.   Thus the reason we resorted to #3 in the pros column.  I’m fighting over every little thing it seems and I think dinner might be the most annoying argument of them all.  This is your food.  Eat it.  No complaining.   At least kids’ choice is cutting back on the complaints.
4) Lack of adult conversation.  Seriously, I’ve been talking to the dog.  Mumble, mumble, mumble.

Today, I escaped to the spare room/craft room while the boys were watching a movie.  I was supposed to be re-organizing the closet (the boys off-season and to-grow-into clothes) as well as my craft supplies.  I got distracted, but it was fun!  The clothes were finished… the craft supplies, not so much.   Instead, I got all the components ready for some fun bridal shower invitations.   I still need a stamp and maybe some flocking.  I also need the details of the shower but at least when it’s all decided, the invitations will be ready for assembly.  I also got the pieces for some coordinating items ready-to-go… I’d tell you what they are, but that would ruin the surprise for the bride-to-be.  Clever ideas though, stolen scraplifted from a back issue of Scrapbooks, Etc.

Speaking of showers, I am in my early-planning, brainstorm and make-note-of-everything stage.  I was trying to come up with some clever favour ideas for a classy brunch shower.  I came across two fun sites for favours and other event or party accessories:  http://www.wedding-favours.ca/ and http://www.beau-coup.com/.   I absolutely love these favor box cake, bottle openers and measuring spoons.   I’m wondering how difficult it would be to do the cake if you found similar sized favour bags at Michaels or Solutions.  It makes me wish I had found these sites 7 years ago!  I’m finding some of the items very inspiring and would like to find some local (and hopefully cheaper) suppliers for some of the ideas floating in my head.

I think tomorrow calls for Starbucks and Chapters.  Great plan, no?  28 hours and counting til I recover my sanity.  Wish me luck!