Getting Organized

I've been starting to sound like a broken record - "Honey, is tonight a late night? Are you taking the kids today?". So, I decided to make a calendar for us both to look at and reference without bugging the other person. I know there are calendar apps available, but as much as I use my phone, I often like something I can walk by and look at. 

So, I ran to Hobby Lobby and got a 14x11 frame (50% off). I also got a set of sparkle letters. I already had some white poster board and a sharpie.

I knew that I wanted this to hang on the fridge, but I also didn't want to commit to ripping off the 'leg' of the frame. So, I secured it with a bit of duct tape and we were off to the races.

I started with four magnets, but that proved to be not nearly strong enough (the frame did a SLOW slide to the ground). I ended up with 8 total square magnets so it would be sturdy enough to take a hit from a rouge ball from the kiddo. They were thick enough to come beyond the taped down leg, so it sits perfectly even on the side of the refrigerator. 

For space reasons (and because we're together most weekends), I only did the 6 sections with a split Saturday/Sunday. There is also an 'upcoming' section at the bottom of things on the horizon. The standard/consistent events were written on the back of the glass so I don't have to worry about erasing/rewriting them.

I decided to put the letters behind the glass (directly onto the poster board) so they wouldn't get in the way when cleaning/erasing the board. The only downside to this is the writing casts a bit of a shadow onto the board. Luckily we have light coming from multiple directions, so it isn't a big problem.

I lucked out and had some mini dry erase markers that already had magnets on the back (and an eraser on the tip) - awesome!!

Looking back at this picture, I wish our life was this open - the frame has almost double the entries now...

How do you stay organized?! Do you have favorite apps?

Blueberry Muffin Remix

I almost titled this post 'Vegan Blueberry Muffins' but I think some people shy away from things labeled vegan because they think it means less tasty. These muffins were just as good as the regular (without the guilt or the hives)!

My intention wasn't to create vegan muffins; I just wanted some goodies for a morning party that our son could eat (dairy free). Also, I was looking for one without egg, as I have a friend who's child has an egg allergy. I know what a relief it can be to have 'safe' food for your kids.

I came across a few different recipes and tweaked them. We already eat TONS of soy - so I really didn't want a recipe with lots of soy (plus I feel like you can always taste the hint of soy in something). We use organic soy milk, but even then, soy crops are one of the most 'engineered' in our food supply (right up there with corn). I'm not diligent with non-GMO foods, but I always want to choose a more natural alternative when possible. 

My recipe ended up as follows:
Preheat oven to 350º
Combine ingredients in a bowl the order listed
1/4 cup non-dairy margarine (can sub 'real' butter/margarine)
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup rice milk (can sub almond, soy, real, etc)
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour (any kind)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
fold in 2.5 cups blueberries
Bake 35 minutes

I used Costco brand organic rice milk and this spread from Trader Joes:

 

Mine made 2 dozen smaller muffins (not mini-muffins, just no muffin-tops). I find giant muffins harder to get out of the liner for little ones. If you want to make larger muffins you'll probably get closer to 18.

I'm happy to report I came back with an empty platter - so the other kiddos and moms enjoyed them too!

Get creative with the mix - use flavored applesauce, add raisins, chocolate chips, nuts, etc!

**Side note: I know there are many blogs that post the most amazing, glorious, beautiful pictures of food. I'm the mother of 2 small ones with an iPhone trying to find and share goodies with anyone who stops by :)

Lemonade Lust

The hubs and I are big fans of Chic-Fil-A lemonade. Their diet lemonade has a sticker on it that said something along the lines of, "only lemons, water and Splenda." Instead of driving the 30 minutes to our closets CFA (and since they're closed Sundays) I decided to give it a go!

Enter lemons:

It makes me think of summer, even though it's not even double-digits outside. I got a bag of 18 smaller lemons from Costco. I cut them each in half and juiced them:

Side note: the hubs was the one really craving lemonade, and he's been hounding me for years to donate the juicer we 'never use' to goodwill. I think the juicer gets a reprieve… for now.

I ended up with almost 2.5 cups of lemonade. I split that between two pitchers and added a heaping 1/2 cup of splenda to each. I did a quick whisk to get the Splenda really dissolved.

I added 6 cups of water to each. The mix is still pretty bitter, so if you like a sweet lemonade, I would add more. I would play it safe though, and error on the side of less water. Then, based on your tastes you can water it down more.

It was definitely refreshing, and will be a staple in the summer when we're grilling on the patio!

Guest Post

I'm over on A Zesty Bite with a guest post on how to make some really cute Valentine's pillows.

Come back next week for a tutorial on the chair!

No Sew Curtains

Curtains are one of the easiest projects to tackle yourself - no sewing required! You'll need fabric, an iron, and hem tape.

First, decide the length of your curtains. You can measure the window, or use an existing curtain/liner as a guide. Since I didn't want the liner peaking out from behind the curtains, I made them 4 inches longer (also, so they would graze the floor).

The fabric had a white edge I could use as a guide to iron an even edge on the sides.

Enter magical hem tape! Even if you're sewing-inclined, sometimes you don't want a line of thread down the side of a project. You slide the tape between two pieces of fabric and iron... they stick together and you're ready to go!

Once the sides were done, I made an inch hem at the top. I angled the corners in, so there would be a clean edge at the top of my curtains. 

I then folded the top over 4 inches to make my rod pocket. I carefully laid hem tape down to stick my first hem to the back of the curtain.

Because the fabric was thick, I turned to iron the back to be sure the hem tape fully melted and stuck the pieces together.

Taadaa! Rod pocket complete. Notice the folded in corner? That way you don't see the fabric peeking out from the front of the curtain if it hadn't lined up perfectly.

Instead of creating matching hems at the bottom, I lined up the tops to make sure both panels were the same length. No surprise, they weren't. 

So, with the tops (already with rod pockets) lined up, I laid out the curtains straight to see how off my cutting was at the bottom.

I folded the ends and did a quick iron to make a crease to use as a guide when making the bottom hem.

Not precise, but closer than if I had just put a 2 inch hem on the bottom of each.

I ironed and hem-taped the bottom of each panel using my crease as a guide. Notice how the hem size changes? I'm not very straight with the scissors... 

I flipped the corners in, so the front has a clean look. If you're curious, you can see the fabric name below. IKEA baby - cut your own fabric! 

Curtains hung! Forgive the bad iPhone picture (nursery #2 post coming soon)!

I got enough fabric to do two panels and extra to do bolster pillows and whatever my brain thinks up.