Babies N Bargains

New cookie recipe

2014-12-09T13:27:00.001-08:00

It's once again been forever since I've posted anything but check this new cookies recipe out. They are really good! I am currently off dairy so I replaced the butter with coconut oil. (the kind that has no flavor) They are really tasty without the butter but of course butter would be super yummy too. Give them a try!

Here is the recipe...

http://cookiesandcups.com/soft-amish-sugar-cookies/

Homemade Oatmeal Pancakes and Vanilla Syrup

2013-08-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

I have been experimenting with different recipes using Coconut Oil lately and this has to be one of my favorites! The pancakes turned out so yummy!!! I just have to share with you all! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. When I made these pancakes the girls could not seem to get enough of them..I couldn't either. ;) I am also going to share the homemade Vanilla Syrup recipe I made.

Oatmeal Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (ground into flour)
2 T Turbinado sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 large egg
3 T melted coconut oil
2 cups whole milk (I use non-homogenized whole milk)
extra coconut oil for cooking the pancakes in

1. Mix the flour, ground oatmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large measuring cup or bowl.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together the milk and egg. Melt the coconut oil and cool slightly.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour the milk/egg mixture and coconut oil in and whisk until almost all lumps are gone.
4. Heat and oil a pan and pour 1/4 cup of batter at a time into the heated pan. Cook until golden brown on each side.

I found this delicious recipe for syrup on Pinterest. I would highly recommend trying it! It only takes a few minutes to make and is well worth the effort. Click here for the recipe. Enjoy!

Babies N Bargains first giveaway!

2013-07-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

I am finally doing my first giveaway on my Babies N Bargains Facebook page! Please go check it out and enter to win a hat and leg warmer set! Here is a picture of the hat. I am offering a set of leg warmers to match.:) More information can be found on my Facebook page.:)

Click here to go straight to the giveaway.

My amazing bad day.

2013-06-12T23:49:00.001-07:00

The other day I was having a bit of a bad day. I did my best not to get upset or let it show that I was upset. Little L was not having the best of days and I don't think that was helping my mood.

It was lunch time and I had just put Little L in her highchair to feed her lunch. This time of day can be a bit of a struggle for us. Little L is a bit of a picky eater so we have fought many battles.;) This was one of those days. She did not want to eat and I did not feel like fighting to make her eat. Obviously giving up was not an option since she had to eat! About half way through lunch everything had piled up and I felt myself getting to the point I was going to cry. I decided Little L and I both needed to take some time out to pray together. As I began to pray the tears began to flow and I could no longer help myself. I had my head bowed on Little L's highchair tray and she began to pat it as if to say "It's ok Mommy, I'm here". This already began to melt my heart and make my day a tad better. I pulled Little L out of her highchair and hugged her tight! As if she knew I still needed comforting she looked at me with her adorable little blue eyes with a worried "Are you ok Mommy?" kind of look. What she did next truly melted my heart and I will never forget it! Little L reached up with her little hands and began to wipe the tears from my face. She knew just exactly what I needed in that moment! It is moments like those that make every other moment of motherhood worth it!!!! I love my little girl more than I will ever be able to say and she loves me.:) What a blessing it is to be a Mom!

Psalm 127:3

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Link to My Etsy Page

2013-05-30T21:01:00.001-07:00

I finally added links to my Etsy page. Feel free to click on the button on the right hand side of your screen or if you would like a preview click on the tab at the top that says "My Etsy Shop". I would love for you to stop by my shop and take a look!

Thanks for stopping by and happy shopping!

Play Kitchen Makeover

2013-05-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to share this for a long time but am finally getting around to it. Last July my mother-in-law found a cute little kitchen set for me on Craigs List. She knew I was looking for either an old kitchen to redo or an old cabinet to turn into a kitchen. I was super excited when she found it and knew immediately what I wanted to do with it. The kitchen was missing a few doors and was a little beat up but I didn't care! :) The best part was that it only cost me $20!!!

Here is a picture of the before.

There was supposed to be two doors on the bottom. One side is supposed to be an oven and the other a dishwasher.

Step one:
I removed all the knobs and other pieces I wanted to paint silver to look like stainless steel.

Step two:
I removed all the doors and then painted the whole thing this cute aqua color. I LOVE the color!

Step three:
I forgot to take picture of this step but I taped off the burners and put newspaper around them so I could spray paint them silver to match all the knobs and sink.

Step four:
After all the paint was dried I put all the knobs and handles and other pieces back on. At this point all I had left to do was make the curtain I wanted to use to replace the missing doors and I would be done.

Step five:
I added the curtain I made and was done! Now my little girl plays with her fun little kitchen all the time. She absolutely loves it!

My overall cost was about $30! Not bad in my opinion! I got the aqua paint for free, the silver paint for about $3, the fabric cost me about $7, and the kitchen was $20.

I love how it turned out! What do you think?

Today I am linking up with...

Feel free to like me on Facebook or Etsy
www.facebook.com/babiesnbargains
www.babiesnbargains.etsy.com

Crocheted Pillbox hat

2013-05-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'm back again.:) I don't know about you and where you live but where I live the weather has been gorgeous the last few days!!!! I have been soaking up the rays every chance I get! Little L loves that she gets to be outside more as well!

The other thing Little L loves doing is copying me. Whatever I am doing she wants to be there helping me. The other day I was crocheting a new hat and she wanted to do the same so I gave her a hook and one of my small balls of yarn. Needless to say Little L thought she was pretty big stuff!

While Little L was occupied with her "work" I worked on my project...my first pillbox hat. I have to say I am happy with the end result. What do you think?

This item is available in my Etsy shop. Also, feel free to follow me on Facebook I usually have even more items available through Facebook than I do through my Etsy shop.

Tulips

2013-05-08T10:37:00.001-07:00

The other day my sister, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, Little L, and I went to the Tulip fields. The fields were gorgeous! I had some fun taking pictures of Little L while we were there so I thought I would share.:)

Little L and I:)

Little L and her cousin (or should I say sister since they act more like sisters than cousins)

Little L being silly as usual. :)

Yarn, Yarn, and More Yarn!

2013-04-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

These days I feel like I have yarn coming out my ears!:) For the past month or two I have been selling hats. I opened my Etsy shop in February and then a few weeks later really started working at selling and have been busy ever since! I have been having so much fun with this new adventure! I love crocheting because I find it very relaxing and it gives me something to do while my husband is working and little L is sleeping. I do have to admit my house has suffered from my re-found love for crocheting.

That being said today I was determined to get caught up with all my house work!!! I started tackling the thing that had been bothering me the most. Laundry. I feel like I am always behind on laundry since becoming a mom but as of late I have been unusually far behind. I got almost all the way caught up with this and then did the dishes, vacuumed the floors, cleaned the kitchen, picked up the rest of the house, and reorganized little L's play room. By the time I finally finished all this Little L was in bed napping so I figured why not work on a few hats...


...and this is why I should not have.

Every time I felt the urge to crochet I had to haul bags and bags of yarn and "stuff" out of my daughters playpen and into whatever room I was going to use. Yes, I really did keep it in the playpen. :) When I hauled it out today I decided that was it!! It was time to make myself a craft room. I had been thinking for a while that I should really set something up but today I finally had the energy/motivation/time to do it. I enlisted the help of my husband for some heavy lifting but otherwise all I had to do was some hardcore organizing.

Before

After

This room went from spare bedroom to spare bedroom/spare TV room/craft room.

This is my favorite part!! I have the yarn all color coordinated! I also like that I have somewhere to put the flowers I have made so they will not get smashed!:)

Had to add some pictures of my little helper ;)

Now that everything is moved and organized all I have to do is convince my husband to let me paint and do some decorating. :) Oh, and make some hats of course. :)

Sneak Peek~Crocheted Bonnet

2013-04-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

I have been super busy lately but I am determined not to abandon my blog. Since I do not have time for a long post right now I thought I would give you a sneak peek of my most recently created hat that is soon going to be for sale in my Etsy shop. :)

If you are interested in seeing more sneak peeks and different products that may not even be in my Etsy shop be sure to go like my Facebook page!

The "Perfect" Iced Coffee

2013-03-27T15:04:00.001-07:00

I have been working on trying to find the perfect iced coffee recipe for a while. I thought I had found it last year but as time went by I still was not 100% happy with the way I was making it. I did lots of research online and honestly had a really hard time finding much information. I am to the point now that I am pretty happy with the results I am getting. :)

All that being said here is what you will need.

Vanilla Syrup (or your favorite flavor)

Ground coffee or whole coffee beans to grind yourself (I personally prefer Starbucks)

Milk

Shot glass

French press

Step one:

Measure out 4 tablespoons of coffee per 6 ounces of COLD FILTERED water
Pour the COLD FILTERED water into your french press and then add the coffee grounds
Stir the water and coffee gently until all the grounds are wet
Place the french press lid on the pot and do not press the filter down
Let this mixture sit overnight or around 12 hours

Step two:

After the mixture has set overnight press the filter down slowly. Your coffee mixture is now ready to use or refrigerate for use at a later time.

Step three:

Measure out 1/2 cup of coffee, 1-1/4 cups milk, and two shot glasses of syrup (I use vanilla)
Combine the milk, coffee, vanilla syrup, and some ice in a glass

Step four:

ENJOY!!!!!!

Now as you enjoy that yummy iced coffee, I have a few more things to add. First, I like my coffee really sweet and creamy so if you don't then adjust accordingly. Also, one of the secrets I discovered is using filtered water! I am on city water so this seems to make a huge difference in the flavor of the coffee for me. I also found that either a blonde or medium blend of whole bean coffee has the best flavor. Whole bean is better if you have a grinder and can grind the beans just before you make the cold brew. Do not use a dark espresso bean! If you do you will end up with a bitter charcoal/pencily flavor. :) The last thing I want to add is to make sure you follow the ratio of coffee to water that I recommend. If you do not use enough coffee grounds you will not get the right flavor.

There you have it! That is my version of the perfect iced coffee recipe. If I keep experamenting (which I am sure I will) and come up with another improvement I will be sure to update this recipe.:) Hope you enjoy!

Oh and in case anyone is wondering Starbucks is not paying me to promote them or anything like that. I just really like their products. ;)

Enjoying the Sunshine!!

2013-03-15T15:50:00.001-07:00

We finally had a nice sunny day here so I decided to let Little L play outside for a while. She LOVED being outside! Lately she is begging me to go outside and play but most days are just too cold and wet! It was so nice to get out in the fresh air again. Little L was having so much fun! She played contently for an hour just looking around and running.:) I can not wait until this summer! I plan on making many trips to the park and library! It will be nice to get in the habit of going for walks again. I think we both need it! LOL

My silly little girl.:)

Exploring everything!

So happy to be in the fresh air!

Acting like a big girl.:)

While she was playing contently I decided it was the perfect time to take some pictures of my latest project for my Etsy shop. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to stop back soon. I am hoping to do my next post on my yummy iced coffee recipe that I have been developing for a while now.:)

Making Flowers

2013-03-06T11:00:00.001-08:00

My newest hobby...

Making flowers out of fabric!

I have been having fun the past few nights making flowers to go with my crocheted hats.:) It gives me something fun to do other than crochet. What do you think of them?

These hats and flowers can be found for sale here.

Going Crazy Crocheting Hats!

2013-03-01T00:32:00.000-08:00

I have made the leap and joined Etsy! I am so excited to give it a try and a little nervous at the same time.:) I have had a lot of time on my hands in the evenings because my husband recently started working swing shift. I decided to take up crocheting again and have gone a bit crazy with it. :) I had forgotten just how relaxing crocheting can be! I decided to open the shop partly just because I have made so many hats and such that I need to start getting rid of them so I can make new ones.

Here are a few samples of things I have been working on and now have listed in my shop.

These first three pictures are pictures my talented sister took and she used some of my hats as props.:)

If you would like to check out my Etsy shop go here.

My baby is not a baby anymore!

2012-11-10T13:49:00.002-08:00

I can't believe my baby is one! Time flies! We decided to have a little get together and I took advantage of the opportunity to bake and decorate.:) I had so much fun making all the decorations and food. I think we should have parties more often . :)

I made banners for the windows. Yes I know I still need to get new curtain rods.:)

These were so easy to make and a good way to reuse tissue paper.

The cake I made for the adults. I made marshmallow fondant for the first time. It turned out pretty good but I learned a few things I will do different the next time.

The cake I made for the birthday girl.

Almost all the food all ready to go.:)

Me and my birthday girl.

She was not cooperating for picture pictures because we had just got her up from a nap.

She loves her kisses. lol

Her friend/cousin/practically sister.

So many presents to choose from!

I think she was in shock that she could rip the paper.:)

It was so funny watching her open presents. She was so careful about it.

Getting help from grandma.

You can see she is signing please in this picture. After we were done taking the picture and took the cake away she had a meltdown. lol

You can see in this picture that she had been crying.

She had to be encouraged by daddy that it really was okay to touch it.

Once she realized it was okay she went face first into the cake. :)

Catch Up

2012-09-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

Since I don't have time to write a lot right now I will just post some snapshots from the last few months.:) I have been home with a sick little girl this week and while I have enjoyed the time with her I am really hoping she is almost over whatever she has! Poor baby.

We've seen lots of this the last two days. Poor girl!

Busy Day of Cheese.

2012-08-03T21:09:00.001-07:00

Well, today I kept myself busy making fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese. I have been wanting to try making it for a while and today I finally did it. I am going to tell all about it in a future post and give instructions as well!!
Right now my husband, baby L and I are at a baseball game. Baby L is fighting sleep so we are walking.:)
Happy Friday!!!

Baby Food

2012-07-30T21:18:00.001-07:00

Today was a good Monday. It was one of those Mondays where I felt like I got a lot done. I love it when that happens! I got 3 loads of laundry done, the floors vacuumed, the bedding washed and bed re-made, house picked up, and most importantly baby food made!! There is still more work to be done on my next day off but I feel like I have a good start on it. Yay!

Baking Butternut Squash for baby food.

One of three batches of carrots ready to freeze.

Cauliflower all ready for the freezer. These used baby food containers work perfectly!

All the food made and in the freezer. Hope to get a few more batches made on Wednesday and I should be good for quite a while!

Three Years Sure Goes Fast!!

2012-07-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Well, as of today my best friend and I have been married three years! I can't believe that it has been that long already! Seems like only yesterday that we were getting ready to get married.

First look...

This is one of my favorite shots from the day.:)

Love that our photographer thought to take this picture with the Bible open to our passage.

Just before the ceremony.

My dad is a pastor so we were blessed enough to have him do the service.:) It was very special.

Microwave Kettle Corn!

2012-07-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

I came a across this recipe on pinterest the other day for homemade kettle corn in the microwave!!!!! Needless to say I am addicted! I am going to be making this a lot!

*I have been doubling the recipe and then just microwaving it for 1-2 minutes longer than suggested. just be sure to listen for the popping to slow or you will burn it. Take it from me it is easy to do.:)

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-07-11T10:59:00.001-07:00

Fourth of July

2012-07-06T16:07:00.001-07:00

We had a great fourth of July! We finally got some warm sunny weather! My husband and I had a nice relaxing morning. We slept in until 9 and then cleaned the house and planted some bushes in front of our house. I was soooo glad to finally get that finished.:) Later in the day we went and played mini golf with my sister and brother-in-law. We ended the day with watching a local firework show. It was awesome! I think this is going to have to become our fourth of July tradition!

My favorite little lady playing in the grass.

My sister and her husband took their truck and we put the girls in the back with toys.:)

The girls waiting for it to get dark enough for fireworks with my brother, brother-in-law, and husband.

My husband and I. Not the best picture ever but at least we got a picture of the two of us.:)

Iced Coffee Recipe

2012-07-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

A while back I found a recipe for making iced coffee. The recipe is for a cold brewed coffee. I had never heard of such a thing! I had to try it right away because I have always disliked how other coffee can have that burnt flavor. In fact I am VERY picky about what coffee I like. I have made my coffee cold brewed ever since but have changed the recipe along the way. I also found a good recipe for homemade sweetened condensed milk that I use.

Cold Brewed Coffee
1/2 cup of your favorite course ground coffee bean (fine ground works too)
1 liter of water

1. Fill a pitcher with the water and then add the coffee beans. Stir until the beans are all wet. Let this set 12 or more hours. I usually just let mine sit over night one night.

2. Prepare a strainer by setting a coffee filter in it and then placing it on top of a large bowl. Pour some of your coffee mixture into the filter. Let it drain. Repeat until all of the coffee mixture has been filtered. (This is how I do it but if you have a better way...go for it.)

*This mixture will stay good in your fridge for about a month.

Iced Coffee Recipe

1/2 cup Cold Brewed Coffee (above recipe)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Mix the ingredients together add ice and ENJOY!

*When I make the Sweetened Condensed Milk I omit the butter.
**You can use storebought Sweetened Condensed Milk but I much prefer the taste of the homemade. I also find that storebought is much more difficult to mix in.

Standing!

2012-06-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I was doing a short exercise video so I had my back to my little L. When I turned around this is what I found her doing!

On her way up...

She always wants the TV controls but she is not allowed to have them. She was pretty proud of herself for getting them. :)

Ever since she did this she has been pulling herself up on everything! She even started taking a few steps behind a little doll stroller her grandma bought her.

Strawberries

2012-06-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today I picked some strawberries from my bushes and then decided I would have some fun taking pictures of them. I love the look of strawberries so I figured why not. I think I will try it again some time and see if I can get some pictures to turn out even better.:)

Here are some of them...

I'm linking up with