Sunday Cook Ahead Day

I've said it before, and I will say it many more times again... Life is way easier if I plan meals out ahead.  (And yet, I still don't do it every week! What is wrong with me??)

Here is the plan for this week, on last week's planning sheet, because I am lazy.

Brunch Bake--I made it ahead of time, and I can reheat each morning.  I don't like sweet breakfasts, and it is hard to make eggs every morning.  Because it is all ready to go, I will actually eat breakfast and/or avoid buying a bfast sandwich while I am out.

Brunch Bake Recipe: 

Scoop of Cream Cheese+1/4 C milk heated and mixed. 

Add 8 eggs (when cooled) and beat.  

Add veggies, fresh herbs, ham or sausage, s&p,  cheese if you like it.  

Bake for 30 minutes at 350F/180C

Here is the Waldorf School Chicken Recipe.  It is amazingly easy and yummy!!

I am stealing this from another parent.  Every week, one night a week, they have Pu Pu Dinner.  (Like a poo poo platter!)  Every one gets to choose what ever they want, to make their own little bites of yumminess as long as most of the food groups are involved.  Parents are also served wine with their Pu Pu platter/antipasti tray.  

(Or Poo Poo Platter, as we will call it in this house.  Emphasis on the POO, for giggles.) 

And while I was at it, prepping all the veggies for the weeks meals, I decided to pack some salads that are ready to go for me.  I just cut up whatever veggies, herbs, fruit, & nuts I had and put it together.  (Keep the dressing off until ready to eat to prevent getting soggy.)

Be back soon!!

I cannot believe we are in late April.  We have been on our house hunting trip and I will return very, very soon.

I don't have any photos, but here is what I am inspired by at the moment:

Nautical Home Decor

Anything involving monarchy

Face painting videos

Enjoy the Spring!

Bored with the Moving Whining

So I am moving in the summer.  For those of you who have been reading, you know I move a lot.  And that I HATE it.  But this one, is the final move, finally.

It is scary, as I don't know if I will even like it, and I am choosing to settle and grow roots there.  I am moving closer to my family, but I haven't lived there in 20 years.

For this reason, I am feeling a resistance to craft, resistance to do projects, etc.  I am showing the house for the owners, so there is the mess of doing these things, but it is beyond that, and since I have moved a lot, I know what it is.  I need to nest in my nest, and I am preparing to change nests.

Do you feel like this during transition?  Any things that help you when you are in between things?  Any things that have helped you during a move?  How do you keep your crafty and creative spirit going?  I'd love to hear:)

And with that, I am going to go down and trash the dining room with this craft.

More Kid Boxes

This weekend, we went to the LONGEST work luncheon ever...  Thankfully, I had my kid box ready to go. It was so helpful, that as soon as I got home, I refilled it.  When there are "surprises" (as Soleil calls them), it is so much more exciting to my kiddos, even though most of this crap was lying around the house anyway!

Here is this round.  If you have any other ideas, please share!!

Completely random, I am inspired by this table. I was going through my photos and I saved this at some point.  I'm totally violating copyright issues, because I don't even remember where it is from to give credit!! (I totally would, if I did, by the way.)  Anyway, I love the beautiful presentation, the use of more than 2 colors, the balance.  

Soleil is asking for a "pink tea party" for her Bday.... we'll see what happens, since we are moving around the same time.  Who am I kidding, though... I love putting together parties!!

Random Spring Craftiness & Inspiration

Working on a few new face paint designs.  Thanks, internet, for ideas!

Inspired but his chalk work at CHOW, a local eatery.

Outfit Inspiration from a magazine.  I cannot wait for shorts, because if you can believe it, in southern VA, we are STILL wearing winter coats.

 I own this dress, and love that I can jazz it up a bit!

 And my latest chalk work from a bridal shower.  I love playing with chalk!!

Toddler Crafting

I am sooo lucky!  I have kids who LOVE to craft.  (What would I do if they didn't?? LOL)  Soleil asks regularly if I have a craft for her.  Sometimes, Mama is a little tired, so I have started to plan crafts ahead for her.  They are lifesavers when I need a moment to do something, and of course, I don't want her watching TV.  

This craft was easy... I drew a rainbow on dark paper with white crayon, gave her tissue and a little bowl of glue.  She knew exactly what to do with it!! She has made several creations using the scrunch-up-the-tissuepaper-and-glue method.  

The way I plan ahead is to store each craft in one of these cool stackable containers.  Snapware brand is great, but this one is a joann's version.

The top has pony beads and pipe cleaners, the second has play mais, and the last one is decorative scissors and all different types of paper and a small container of playdoh.  (I make long snakes for her to cut into little pieces).

 If you have to go somewhere and wait a long time (like the auto tune up place!), this is great to bring with you.

One of Soleil's finished creations.  

Couponing!!

My friend, Roxanne, has me hooked.
I walked into her house, and she had a whole shelf of (healthy) snacks that she told me she bought for under $1. I always thought couponing was for those folks that buy a lot of processed, prepackaged food.  Roxanne has all healthy stuff, and I wanted to be know how she saved $$.   It was then, that I rethought the whole coupon thing.

The whole process has made me look at shopping in a different way.  I read the ads (there are websites that list them out for you, and even allow you to print out a list!) and planned ahead.  It makes you eat more seasonally, which is better for everyone.

To sum up, this is what I do:
1.  Collect coupons.  Organize them.  (Only keep ones that you will use!)
2.  Check ads online and print list.
3.  Match up with coupon.
4.  Shop on Wednesdays when coupons double at Farm Fresh.
5.  Keep lists and coupons in car in case I have a free moment while I am out to hit the other stores.

I will only go to a different store that week if I they really have a good deal.  I have tried a different store each week (Kroger, Commissary, Harris Teeter, and Farm Fresh) and then picked my favorite (Farm Fresh).

I have saved a ton of $$, folks!! I'd love to hear tips if you have them:)

I love my Library

Better than any reality show... 

And before you think I read just hoity toity stuff, this is what I read right beforehand.  (And I am waiting for the sequel at the library.

On Certain Fridays, the library has LEGO CLUB.  It is like Happy Hour for kids.  Afterschool, they dump out this giant container of legos in their meeting room, and the kids play until 5pm.  The parents can actually visit a bit as well, as our library isn't exactly one of those silent types.  I love quiet, but when everyone else is in that "Friday Festive Mood", I don't mind the chatter.

I also was able to teach a little face painting class to the children's librarian and several other volunteers.  It was so fun!! I practiced the night before to think of how to teach best.  Paul came up to find me with full face paint at 10pm. 

And this is my library friend, D'jon painted as a leopard.  The best part is that she happened to wear a leopard colored yellow scarf that day, and wore her paint home, while riding her bike!

My Command Center

My Command Center.  I did not create this term--my little brother, Andy, gets credit for the title.  My mom has a place in her house that is where she sits with her coffee and her computer, a blanket, a dog or 2, and settles in.  He calls it her Command Center. I have one of those places as well, and the red couch is it.

I start my day here, and usually end it here, too.  I plan things, plan to create things, drink coffee, facebook, email, and sometimes even just sit and listen to music.

My favorite "Command Center" activity: drinking coffee. 

I leave my pile of magazines in this spot, and use it to rip out inspiration.  I write down or "pin" new recipes here, and review my week's itinerary.  It is one of my favorite spots in the house.
Where is your "Command Center"??

A recent magazine article that inspired me.

Williamsburg Mini Trip

Williamsburg, VA in only about 40 miles away from our house.  I, however, have never been, and needed a little getaway with the kids to just relax and get away from the routine of life.

We packed a few changes of clothes, filled a big rubbermaid container with games, legos, characters for Soleil, cards, and art supplies.  I also packed a bag with snacks and drinks, and sought out a deal on priceline.  My kids LOVE hotels, and it really didn't matter where we stayed, but we ended up lucking out big time...

We booked the Historic Powhatan Resort for about $80 total per night.  We headed northward, and since it was raining hard, and it was Friday, it took us about an hour and half to get through the tunnel to Williamsburg.  The kids were amazing, and didn't care... they had a huge snack bag, and I gave in, and threw in a movie in the car's DVD player.

We finally arrived to the hotel and pulled in to this beautiful resort.  The units are like little town houses, 4 in a row.  We had an upper level, which consisted of a living room, bedroom with king size bed and bathroom, an additional bathroom and a small, well thought out kitchen.  It also had another set of stairs within the unit (steep, but carpeted) that led up to another small room that had 2 twin beds in it!!  We were just expecting a standard hotel room, and got so much more!

And then we drove around the resort.  There was an indoor pool, with 2 hot tubs, recreation room with scheduled activities, a nice restaurant, tennis courts (you could check out equipment on site), good playground, and mini golf!! We hit the jackpot.

I didn't turn on the computer all weekend.  We played games, the kids played nicely, we had no other responsibilities and it was DELIGHTFUL.  Phase 10 is a great game, and Soleil will play forever with little characters.

 We did go into Colonial Williamsburg, which to be honest, is not interesting to little kids.  They did love the gardens behind the historical buildings, and we played there in the beautiful VA sun.  We tried "Queen's Cake" from the bakeshop--it was horrible.  We joked and said that it must have been baked in the 1700s.

Costco and Lemons!

We recently went with another family to Costco.  Being a small family, it always seemed like a waste to me--we barely get through the food we buy at the grocery store, so larger quantites seem like way too much.  However, when we split a few items, like the big carton of meyer lemons that they had there, it makes sense.  And I love meyer lemons!!

If you are regular reader, you will know that Soleil LOVES making lemon bars.  (Don't promise the girl that you will make them on a particular day.  She will remind you and remind you and remind you, much like a cat who has run out of catfood!!)

A friend of mine gave the greatest idea:  grate the zest and juice the lemons and FREEZE IT!!  I used little ice cube containers (from ikea) to freeze the juice, and froze the zest separately.  Now I have it in small quantities whenever I need it!

 I put some of the zest in the shortbread part of the recipe AND some in the curd portion.  They were VERY lemony.  (Paul thought they weren't sweet enough, while I thought they were perfect.)   I used Bakerella's recipe, using white sugar instead of powdered, because I was out of the latter.

 Here is all the leftover juice after it has been frozen and popped out into a freezer bag.

Love with Food

For Christmas, my BFF and longest childhood friend, Claudia and I gave each other these fun snack box subscriptions.  This one is called"Love with Food", and it comes with a lot of many unique snacks.  The best part is that they donate a portion of the cost to fun one meal to someone in need.  

Soleil wanted to try every snack.  She had so much fun with this, that I felt guilty if I tried a snack without her. When the box was empty, I had to refill it with small snacks I already had in the pantry (goldfish crackers, peanut butter crackers, fruit cups, etc.)   She pulls the box out whenever she is hungry!

 

My favorite was the Banana Split Baby Mama Drama from Mama's Magic Mix.  It was comprised of these caramel puffs and freeze dried fruit and nuts and was soooo good!

Claudia and I also ordered "Nature Box" for each other, and I haven't received that one yet, but I can't wait!

Traveling Abroad with Kids Part 2

I had other info, and almost forgot to post it!!  For this reason, I serve it up to you list-style....

Buy your train tickets ahead if you can.
Don't forget to buy your Oyster Card (if going to London) at the bigger tube stations.
Eat Fruits and Veg
Drink Lots of Water
Book your hotel the night you return--you WILL be too tired to drive.
Go overseas in Early December--you get the Christmas without the crowd.
Another great time is in November--no crowd at Eurodisney, avoid travel on US Thanksgiving
Bring a collapsable bag for Shopping.
Bring Benedryl, ibruprofen, peptobismol, vicks baby rub (coat inside of nose with this, as you travel.)

PLEASE ADD MORE IDEAS IF YOU HAVE THEM!  :) xooxxoxoxoxo

Starting my Business

I have been working on a business plan for about 2 years.  Actually, I have been working on it longer than that, if you count the time spent daydreaming about future plans that have bubbling within forever.  I knew I couldn't really do anything until we stopped MOVING. That is finally coming to an end this summer, and I am so excited!!

Planning, planning, planning.

Because I couldn't start my own business, I channeled that energy into helping other small businesses.  I really love helping others make their dreams come true.  Sometimes it was actual work, other times it was a brainstorming session, and other times it was to gather an unofficial panel to give feedback.  As I have traveled, I have left a trail of amazing women, whom I call dear friends, who have inspired me as I start my own business.

I have fears, as one does... about financial commitment, about where, about when, about someone else stealing my idea in the same area.  But I also have A LOT of excitement about having my own shoppe, and collaborating with other creative souls.

Too Early for Valentine's Day?

Earl Grey Tea Latte. (pinterest recipe)

Dollar Store Felt Heart+Glue Dots+Canvas

More Dollar Store Hearts on the window, decorated by Soleil.  (She HAD to have them.) Here is her craft desk with a V Day craft invitation of glitter (yes, I am crazy), glue, and pink and red sticker gems.  It is out for her to do whenever she wants.  Yes, there is glitter all over the floor, in case you were wondering.

 Me on Sunday.  

I attempted to make hearts out of carrots for Soleil's soup (another pinterest idea).  It is harder than it seems!

Another pinterest recipe, and a total hit!! It is the bread that you mix up the day before andpop into a hot Le Creuset type pot the next morning.  It was PERFECT. 

My not-so-shy child denying me a photo.  The heart is made from a felted sweater.