Enter If You Dare…

Adalaide outside the spooky entryway
So I may have mentioned this already but my time has been spread pretty thin these days. Although I have wishes and dreams and desires to do all the creative things that inspire me and get my juices flowing it’s just not possible unless I’m willing to risk a total mental breakdown! Decorating my entire house for Halloween, throwing a big party with tons of friends and even turning the back half of the house into a haunted one all crossed my mind this fall, but then I slapped myself right across the face and got real. There was no way I was going to be able to pull off such ambitious endeavors  while doing everything else on my “Get it the Hell Done” list. So, I scaled back my over achieving expectations and decided to bring it down a notch. I realized I could still bring in a touch of that spooky Halloween spirit but in a smaller, more manageable, just as fun way. OK maybe not just as fun as turning my place into a haunted house, but fun enough!Continue Reading

In My Knitting Basket This Month

Katherine Heigl and yarns from her knitting basket
I recently walked into a lovely knitting store while in Jackson Hole WY and got totally carried away as I so often do among piles of beautiful fibers. The crisp temperatures in Jackson had me gravitating towards the chunkier yarns and cozy fall patterns. I also happen to love projects that knit up quick and can be done in one rogue afternoon while binging my new favorite show. With my time spread so thin these days I’m in need of quick and easy craft projects and these patterns were exactly what I was looking for. So with out further ado, here is what’s in my knitting basket this month.Continue Reading

DIY Baby Food

Adalaide feeding Joshua Jr.
I started making my own baby food with Adalaide and not only loved knowing exactly what was going in to the food that I was feeding my baby but kinda enjoyed experimenting with combinations of fruits, veggies and grains to see what she liked best. Adalaide has been a picky eater from the moment she started eating solids so she wasn’t really my best customer. To this day if I put a bowl of delicious homemade mac and cheese in front of her she’ll lean over and smell the bowl before taking a hesitant bite. As if she’s afraid I’ve slipped something unsavory in there! Maybe my baby food experimentation scarred her for life…or maybe she’s just a REALLY picky eater! Anyway, I’ve pulled my blender back out to start making Joshua Jr’s food now that he’s ready for solids and am so relieved with how much easier he is to please! I gotta say it really takes the pressure off!Continue Reading

Family Friendly Smoothies

To be totally honest I’ve had a love/hate relationship with smoothies for years now. I love the idea of them, but hate that an hour after I’ve downed one I’m starving again. Then there was the summer that I thought I would easily drop a few extra pounds by using my Ninja blender to whip up a smoothie every morning for breakfast, but I wasn’t following any particular recipe for low cal options and didn’t realize that adding a cup of cashews, almonds or walnuts was jacking up the calorie count on the smoothie to well over a thousand. Yeah, I actually put weight on that summer. But when the warm weather rolls around I find myself craving their cool, silky deliciousness, and so do my girls. With a determined heart I set about searching for a few satisfying, low cal, easy recipes and low and behold, I found em! So I guess smoothies and I are officially back together…for the summer at least.Continue Reading