My Cup of Creativi-Tea

Paper Punched Valentine's Cards

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's amazing what you can make with simple craft supplies. In this case, a glue stick, paper, and a paper punch. I remember doing a similar project when my daughter was 2 or 3. I figure, why not?

Sophia and I dug through our paper punches and started punching out shapes. I liked the idea of repeating the same punch over and over.

Thus this heart made of hearts card was made. As you can see, I wasn't too original with my text here. At least it's sweet, right? Sophia made several cards but have hidden them all. I'm assuming they're for me and her dad. I love watching her create and her attempts at being sneaky. I did not snoop of course. I'm going to be pleasantly surprised.

Want a tutorial on creating the above Valentine's card using just a single hole punch? Check out my tutorial on Tots2Tweens.

Are you making Valentine's cards this year? We only made these. The ones for Sophia's class party will be storebought. Because if we attempt to craft 20 Valentine's cards, guess who will be doing all the work?

Exactly.

Photography February: Creative Everyday Week 5

2012-02-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

For February, I switched to a different medium for Creative Everyday. Instead of drawing, I'm taking photographs. I mostly take photographs of the kids or of projects for my blogs. This time, I'm looking at my world with a more creative eye.

A happy accident, cookies in grass at MD Science Center

It's been fun looking through the lens and playing with the zoom to look at my environment a different way.

Do you like taking photographs? How do you view your world?

Red Hot Upcycled Shoes For Valentine's Day (Tutorial)

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm on a never ending search for fun red shoes that are comfortable. And affordable. No small feat. A few weeks ago, I found the shoes below on clearance. They were comfy. They were flats. Perfect for toddler chasing.

After a quick tweet asking if I was crazy for buying 2 pairs of the same shoes so I could paint a pair. My friends totally enabled me to purchase them. Wouldn't you want to paint them? Beige is a cry for color! Late at night, I took over our dining table to begin my project.

I mixed the perfect red paint for my shoes. I used Basic brand acrylic paint, but I've used fabric paint for a previous shoe project. Acrylic paint is usually permanent once dry, so I was comfortable using it. Just remember that holds true for the clothes you're wearing. You might want to wear a smock.

I cut off the useless velcro strap and removed the velcro tab under it. It just looked so random. Before painting the shoes, I stuffed newspaper inside them to hold their shape and to keep paint out of the inside of the shoe. Using a stiff brush, I painted the shoe with the red acrylic paint. I let it dry and then added another coat until it was the color I wanted. Scarlet red.

Alisa Burke turned me onto these little bottles of squeeze paints. They are most famous for decorating t-shirts. I've experimented with them, but not as much as I would like. As I waited for the red paint to dry, I felt that the shoes needed something. Something exciting. So I grabbed my bottle of black squeeze paint.

After practicing on scrap paper, I doodled on the shoe. I had planned on doodling on the entire shoe. As I stopped to let the front dry, I realized I liked just having the toes painted. I left it dry overnight, then used a finishing spray to set it.

It's been fun wearing these shoes around town. Maybe I should wear them on Valentine's date?

Are you ready to paint some shoes now?

Cleaning My Pantry On A Saturday Night

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

This Saturday I cleaned and re-organized my pantry. Not exactly a date night activity. I was inspired by a new cookbook, Parents Need to Eat Too: Nap-Friendly Recipes, One-Handed Meals, and Time-Saving Kitchen Tricks for New Parents by Debbie Koenig. While the cookbook is geared towards new parents or parents with a newborn, I found so many useful tips. I don't have a newborn, but my toddler Jaxson needs constant attention, just like a newborn. Except he can run, scream, climb bookshelves, and destroy things when I'm not looking.

As I flipped through Parents Need to Eat Too, I thought, where was this book 6 years ago when I had Sophia? After months of eating angel hair pasta with jarred sauce, Koenig, a cook and food lover, knew there had to be a better way. Through trial an error, she developed the recipes and tips in the cookbook.

The chapter on stocking your pantry is invaluable. My pantry was in a sad state. Sure I try to keep staples like chopped or diced tomatoes and dried beans in my pantry but I forget to restock when we run out. I did feel proud that my pantry had many items on the Koenig's list: sesame oil (hey, I'm Asian-that's a must have), whole wheat flour, quinoa, steel cut oats, peanut butter, and soy sauce. Items like shelf stable polenta rolls and sun dried tomatoes were a surprise.

I chose two recipes, made a list and set about shopping. I picked up ingredients for Pasta e Fagioli and Roasted Vegetable Beef Barley Soup. The two soups appealed to me because they're hearty and while our winter in DC have been mild, nothing says comfort food like soup. While I was out, I also grabbed some items for our pantry.

Once I got home, I had to make room in my pantry for the cans of beans and diced tomatoes plus chicken and beef broth and everything else I purchased.

And THAT'S how why I cleaned my pantry on a Saturday night. As you can see my basket of noodles, Asian and Western, needs a ton of work.

Parents Need to Eat Too is available for pre-order and will be released on February 21. To learn more, visit Debbie Koenig's blog. Pre-order the book and receive a free digital starter kit that includes recipes and other items not in the book.

This week I plan on making the two soups I picked out. I hope two soups in one week won't be too much for my family. Good thing both of them will freeze well. I'll share my further adventures of Parents Need to Eat Too with you.

I received a copy of Parents Need to Eat Too for review. I'm participating in a Blogger Cooking Party and will be entered in a drawing to win prizes. All opinions and my crazy need to clean my pantry are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

5 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy Foods

2012-02-06T01:12:00.000-05:00

Some nights at dinner, I get so frustrated when I look at the untouched food on my daughter's plate (with separate sections, thank you very much). Why can't she just eat what I cook and serve her? I refuse to cook a separate meal for her.

How do kids get so picky? When she was a toddler she ate everything I gave her. Sure she doesn't like most sauces like ketchup, soy sauce, barbeque sauce, etc. She doesn't like her food to touch, thus the cute pink plate with separate compartment. She could eat cheddar cheese everyday and be happy. Her milk has to be ice cold. If it becomes warm, she won't drink it.

As picky as I think Sophia is, she really isn't that picky. She loves eating phở, a Vietnamese noodle dish, spring rolls, broccoli (it's her fave veggie), and roasted nori (seaweed snacks). Then I feel pretty good about her eating habits. I'm not doing such a bad job after all.

So how did I get her eat broccoli? Or seaweed?

Inside out spring rolls

Here are 5 ways you can encourage your kids to eat more healthy food:

Cook with your children. When Sophia was as young as 2, I let her help me in the kitchen. We pulled up a chair, I gave her simple tasks. She peel the skin off garlic cloves. She helped measure out the corn meal when I baked cornbread. She buttered muffin tins for me. Sure it was a bit messy, but she learned how the food she ate was made. Young children can help stir, mix, scoop and count out ingredients. I got Sophia to eat fish by making fish packets together. We've made pumpkin ravioli, potato pizzas, and even apple pie.
Designate them the official Taste Tester. When I knew that Sophia would balk at a new food, I would dip a spoon into the soup or give her a small bite of chicken. I'd tell her "Taste this and tell me if you think I need anything." Not only does it give her a say in what she's eating, but it helps develop their palate. When I made the pancetta macaroni and cheese this weekend, she suggested that the sauce needed another type of cheese in it. After tasting it myself, I agreed. We threw in some grated parmesan cheese and it rounded it out.

Sophia's lunch box

Make eating fun. My toddler's favorite vegetable is "Bock-a-li" aka broccoli. He was lukewarm towards them for a while, but since it's a pantry staple, I wanted him to like broccoli. I always keep a bag of broccoli in the freezer. It's so easy to just pour it in a container and microwave it. Once I started calling them trees, he was intrigued. I let him choose a tree out of the bowl. Then we named them: he liked the mama trees, the sister trees, you get the idea. I use egg molds to make super cute hard boiled eggs.
Keep fruits and vegetables accessible. My kids love fresh fruits and veggies. It's a sad day when our fruit bowl is empty. I keep our bowls of fruit (we have two because our entire family loves eating fruit) on a low shelf so they can just grab a pear or apple when they want a snack. They don't even have to ask. They can just grab a piece of fruit. Things like chips, candy and pretzels are kept up high. I also offer kid friendly veggies like sugar snap peas (kids love their sweetness), edamame (fun to free those beans!), and celery (sliced on the bias to make it fun to eat). At dinner, our family has green bean eating races, to see who can eat a green bean the fastest. Of course the kids always win.
Stick a toothpick in it. Seriously. When I cut up fruit or veggies and stick a toothpick in it, the kids gobble it up. Maybe it's reminiscent of the samples they serve when we're out shopping. I also do this for Sophia's lunch. I make mini-kebobs for her lunchbox and most of the time she eats them all. You can make mini-kebobs of fruits, veggies, and meats (chicken breast, sausage, etc). The possibilities are endless. Toothpicks can be a choking hazard so please use your judgment before using them with your kids.

Remember, it's all about giving them choices. Or to make them feel like that have a choice in what they eat. You, as the responsible parent, decide what they get to choose from.

Do your kids enjoy cooking with you? Enter Uncle Ben's contest, Ben’s Beginners! By entering the contest, you could win $20,000, along with a $50,000 grant towards a cafeteria makeover for your child’s school. In addition, you will have a chance to appear onThe Rachael Ray show. Uncle Ben’s is calling for parents with children ages 5-12 to submit a 2-3 minute video of you cooking a rice-based dish with your children. For more info on the contest, please check out Ben’s Beginners on Facebook!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Uncle Ben’s blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Watch Me Eat A Bug Cookie

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ready to be amused?

Exhibit A: Chocolate Chirp Cookies. See them, right on top?

After hemming and hawing, I quickly stuck the entire cookie in my mouth. It wasn't a big cookie, but I was eating a bug! The chef called the cookie a gateway cookie. A gateway to bugs I guess.

Chew! Chew! Chew! Yes, bugs were harmed in the making of this blog post.

I survived!

I guess they weren't so bad. It tasted like a chocolate chip cookie.

Have you ever eaten a bug?

Want to try your own bug cuisine? The Maryland Science Center's new exhibit Harry's Big Adventure: My Bug World! opens this Saturday, February 4th. Besides bug food (only on weekends), there are roach races and cricket spitting contests. There are also exhibits that don't deal with live bugs too. I didn't freak out. Too much. The exhibit is included in the Maryland Science Center's admission price.

Our family was invited to a pre-opening reception to see the exhibit. I was not obligated to eat any bugs or blog about the exhibit.

Food Finds: Louisiana Zapps Chips and Mighty Leaf Tea

2012-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

My favorite all time kettle chips are Louisiana Zapps potato chips. My favorite flavor is the Spicy Cajun Crawtators. Yep, cheesy name, but loved the chips. Imagine my surprise to see Zapps at the Dollar Tree. I've seen them at some Potbelly's locations but we don't eat there often.

I've never tried the Voodoo nor the Hotter N Hot Jalepenos. I was totally underwhelmed by the jalapeno chips. It had a slight jalepeno flavor but that was it. The Voodoo chips had so many different spices and was too sweet for me. It was like a sweet barbeque flavor. Hubby threw both flavors into a plastic bag and mixed them up. That made them a bit better. Still it was nice to see a taste of home (Louisiana) when I least expected.

My other find was Mighty Leaf Mighty Leaftea for only $5 a box! That's a good price for organic tea bags, since it retails for $10 a box at Whole Foods. I grabbed the Orange Dulce and hubby picked Vanilla Bean Vanilla Bean . I think I'm going back to grab a box of their Earl Grey Organic Earl Grey as well.

What foods have you discovered recently?

I paid the chips and tea myself. The tea has made me very happy. This post contains affiliate links.

Doodling With Paint: Creative Everyday Week 4

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've faltered a bit during week 4 of Creative Everyday. Some days I've forgotten completely or just passed out on the couch at 6PM. I needed the sleep, but I had so much to do as well!

However, over the weekend, I treated myself to a fun shoe altering project (photos to come!). So I practiced doodling with some squeeze paints. It was definitely what I needed to get out of my rut.

What about you? How are you being creative?

The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection (Book Review)

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

As someone who briefly considered going to culinary school and is slightly obsessed with Top Chef, Ruhlman's The Soul of a Chef was fascinating. Ruhlman attempts to uncover what is it that makes a chef successful and what makes them good at what they do? Is their talent innate or can it be learned?

First, Ruhlman heads to the famous Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to find out. The CIA offers an optional certification, called Certified Master Chef exam that is so vigorous that very few pass it. Those that take the grueling test work so hard and want the certification so badly, some have even put themselves through it more than once.

After visiting the CIA, he follows now Iron Chef America Michael Symon and the very famous Thomas Keller. It seems the two famous chef are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Symon's style is loose and easy going while Keller seeks perfection in everything they do. (For a cool inside look of a waitress working at a four star restuarant, read Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter.)

I was fascinated by all the different tests chefs had to pass to become a Certified Master Chef. It makes the challenges on Top Chef look like making pancakes from a box. It's all about classic training, apparently. After reading this part of the book, I knew for sure that I'm not cut out for a restaurant kitchen.

Ruhlman also recounts both Chef Symon and Chef Keller's rise to fame. Both had humble beginnings. I got the impression that Symon created recipes on the fly while Keller tested each recipe, tweaking it many times before the dish made it onto diners' plates. I was mesmerized by Keller's methodology. What really struck me was the respect Keller's staff had for him. Keller even helped clean the kitchen! Apparently that is unheard of in most restuarant kitchens.

I enjoyed reading The Soul of a Chef for a glimpse inside the culinary world. Almost all the chefs he spoke with worked long hours and work-life balance was tricky for them. I can only dream of being able to see food the way they do, and experiment the way they do. Of course I don't have the time, tools, or income they have to do that. I'm not sure how much innate talent has to do with cooking. I think a lot of time surrounded by food and mentors make a big difference too.

Have you ever wanted to be a chef?

This review is part of The Kitchen Reader book club. Each month we read a food related book and share our thoughts. This month's book, The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman was chosen by Lisa of Charleston Treasures. Affiliate links are included in this post, but all opinions are my own. I borrowed my book from my library.

Photo by Another Pint Please... via Creative Commons

Made to Order Crepes in Chinatown

2012-01-30T09:45:00.001-05:00

Yesterday after we watched the DC Chinatown's Lunar New Year parade, we stopped at the crepe stand. I don't know if the kids have had a fresh crepe before. I can make them, but not like these guys can. They are pros! And they have the fancy machine.

We got a savory one, filled with cheddar cheese. They guy folded the huge crepe into four, wrapped it up in foil and paper. We stood outside in the cold and gobbled it up. Totally worth the $4, since the kids were entertained as we watched our crepe being made.

Look at that those huge jars of Nutella. I wonder how many they go through in one day?

If you're in DC, checkout Crepes On the Walk in Chinatown, right down the walkway of the Gallery Place mall. You won't regret it!

Kid Approved: Whole Food's Tequila Lime Seasoning

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Raise your hand if you like food samples at grocery stores? My kids can sense the food demo table from aisles away.

Last week, our Whole Foods was sampling pan fried salmon to promote their Friday sale. The salmon was generously doused with tequila lime blend seasoning (pictured above). It was tasty. Though, flavor any food with tequila, I'm all over it. Give me a drink with tequila in it and I'll be your buddy for the evening.

Oh, where was I? Oh yeah, so we patiently waited for our sample of steaming hot tequila lime salmon. I appreciate that the shoppers at Whole Foods aren't as vicious as the ones at Sam's Club when it comes to food samples. I was already going to purchase the salmon, but an afternoon snack never hurts.

Sophia fell in love with the salmon. So much after one nibble, I gave her the rest of mine. While I picked up the wild caught salmon (only $7.99 a pound-a bargain!), she asked if we could purchase the seasoning. I froze. She's not a big fan of a lot of seasoning on anything. The fact that she asked for it-I bought it!

The next day we made the salmon and it was a hit with everyone, even Jaxson. A couple of nights ago, I made my go-to meal, roasted chicken. As I went to grab some spices, I noticed my container of Tequila Lime Blend. I liberally added it to the chicken and potatoes. It was yummy and the kids loved it.

So, thanks Whole Foods for letting my daughter actually like something with tons of flavor. I'll have to buy more!

~~
Pssst. I was featured on Goddess Leonie's website yesterday. I'm sharing some more pages from my goddess workbook. Take a peek.

I totally paid for my own food at Whole Foods. In fact, I <3 their Friday sales.

Downton Abbey's Luscious Costumes

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm a little bit obsessed with Downton Abbey. I devoured the first season in less than 24 hours. Ok, it was only 7 episodes, but I just couldn't get enough! Thank goodness for Netflix streaming. If you're not familiar with Downton Abbey, it's British drama (comedy?) on PBS.

In high school I read tons of paperback romance books about "the season" and the search for a rich husband. Set pre- and during WWI, Downton Abbey follows the lives of an uppercrust family and their servants. Besides loving the writing, I've been oogling the gorgeous costumes.

A bit of googling revealed that the show reuses costumes from other period movies and tv shows. People are upset about it apparently, but that's pretty common in the theatre. There isn't time or money in the budget to make everyone's costumes from scratch. By adapting or changing a few elements on the costume, you can rework it. What do you think about reusing costumes?

Here's some of my favorites:

You know how much I love red. Maybe we should all wear gloves to formal dinners?

Photo by Lyndsy88

Look, I found this quiz: Which Downton Abbey character are you? Turns out I'm Lady Mary. Which is no surprise considering how much I love her costumes.

You are Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery). You yearn for glamour and excitement. And the exhumation of poor Mr Pamuk. Oh how you miss him!

Wall of Ramen

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

You know how much I love ramen right? Check out this wall of ramen I discovered at my Vietnamese grocery store. Around the corner you could buy them by the case.

I'll have one of each please!

Running Out of Ideas: Creative Everyday Week 3

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm doing a better job remembering to complete my daily sketch. I'm having a harder time thinking of what to sketch. Maybe that's my problem, I'm thinking too much.

I think I should pick a night and paint in the sketches from the last 2 weeks.

Photo taken on my Android phone with Paper Camera app.

Happy Lunar New Year!

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Chúc mừng năm mới!

Happy Tết or Lunar New Year in Vietnamese! Today marks the year of the dragon.

To get ready, this past weekend, I went to the Vietnamese grocery store to pick up some essentials.

First, we have to eat banh chung, made of fatty pork, mung bean, and sticky rice.

It's also traditional to eat candied fruit, but I've never been a fan of it. Usually there's candied coconut, lotus seeds, ginger and lots of other stuff. I didn't pick up any for the family because I knew no one would eat it.

I'll be back tomorrow with my Creative Everyday post!

Upcycled Memo Board Tutorial #GlueNGlitter

2012-01-21T02:39:00.001-05:00

On the wall next to my desk, I've taped up things that make me happy or inspire me. I have family photos, posters, Sophia's art and other random things. I got tired of how cluttered it all look, so I decided to make a memory board.

I was first inspired by this memo board project on Elmer's website. I headed to the Wal-mart to pick up supplies. I had no idea Elmer's offered so many adhesives and craft supplies. For the base, I used Elmer's Foam Board. It's light weight and inexpensive as well. I forgot to included it in the picture, but I also used Elmer's CraftBond Repositionable Glue Stick. I also picked up a glue gun and extra glue sticks-my first glue gun in 10 years!

After digging through my fabric stash, I found a pleather (fake leather) mini-skirt that I haven't worn in years. My brain thought about all the sewing instructions in the original project. I was too lazy to pull out my sewing machine. I figured I could just hot glue the entire board. ( I ended up not using the red trim and the crocheted flowers.)

Since the foam board was much bigger than the skirt, I cut the 20 x 30 inch board in half. After drawing my cutting line in pencil, and I cut the board with an X-ACTO knife. Using a metal ruler as a guide, score the board with the knife on your first pass. Then go back and add more pressure, eventually cutting through the board. Make sure to use a cutting mat. I might have scratched my kitchen table a bit. . .

I cut the mini-skirt into two parts. The front and the back. I decided that the back with the zipper was much more interesting. I thought it would be fun to leave the zipper open. That meant I need something underneath the fake leather.

I dug through my scrap bag and found this red fabric. Using the Elmer's CraftBond Repositionable Glue Stick, temporary attached it to my foam board. It kept it in place until I could fold the edges over and hot glue it. I stretched the fabric taught as I attached it with the hot glue gun.

After the glue was set, I trimmed the edges.

Then I repeated it with the piece of my mini-skirt. I decided to let the hemmed part of my skirt hang down, past the edge of my foam board.

The board looked a little bare, so I had to give it some pearls. Leather and pearls go together, right? First a little trim on the end.

Now the board looked like a leather shirt or jacket. Right where the zipper opened, I added a necklace.

On the back of the board, I hot glued a picture hook and hung it the wall next to my desk. Now, I have a nice, eat place to hang inspiration pieces. I used my pearl head stick pins to hold the photos up. Just to keep with the pearl theme.

While I was at Wal-mart, I did find a section of fabric squeeze paints and blank shirts. Inspiration for my next project? You can see more photos from my shopping trip on Google +.

Supplies used in this project: pleather mini-skirt, pearl trim, red fabric, hot glue & hot glue gun, X-ACTO knife, ruler, cutting mat, Elmer's Foam Board 20"x30", Elmer's CraftBond Repositionable Glue Stick, pearl headed stick pins, and scissors.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias #glitternglue All opinions and the outdated pleather mini-skirt are mine.

What's Your Sauce?

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

I couldn't help but to take a shot of these shelves of Asian sauces. So many sauces, so little time!

When Life Hands You Oranges

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

My friend A Shorter Mama gifted us with a huge bag of oranges. Both kids love fresh fruit so I was more than happy to take them off her hand. It was a lot more than 40 oranges. More like 50-60!

Some of the oranges felt a bit soft, so I thought it would be fun to make fresh orange juice. It's good for the kids to know that OJ doesn't come straight from a plastic jug. I just picked up an old fashioned type juicer from IKEA. Sophia quickly lost interest after she realized that freshly squeezed OJ has, surprise!, pulp. As much as I tried, I couldn't convince her that it was normal and pulp is good for you, being fiber and all. She'll eat peeled oranges no problem, but not pulpy juice.

Jaxson, on the other hand, loved the hands on nature of juicing. After juicing each half, he poured it into his cup. He would then take a sip and declare it, "Tasty!"

Even after eating at least 10 oranges and another 10 or so to juice, we still had a bunch left. There was hardly a dent in our oranges basket.

I hope our skin doesn't turn orange.

Mini Sketches But No Watercolors: Creative Everyday Week 2

2012-01-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

The good news is that I'm loving my 5 minutes of creativity everyday. The bad news is that I've been too busy and/or forgot to paint them. I'm sorry to disappoint you all this week. I plan on going back to paint them, maybe later this week.

I realized that if I wait until the end of the day to sketch, I'm too tired to figure out what I'm going to draw. However, if I draw earlier in the day or even right when my muse calls, it goes a lot more smoothly. And I feel more zen. Either way, once I start drawing, all those doubts fade away.

Saturday's mini-sketch is my favorite: Stuff We Almost Bought From Ikea.

It's so easy to get sucked into IKEA. It's such a maze, but I love fantasizing on redecorating our apartment. We almost had lunch there but the line was too long, thus the pile of meatballs.

I'm doing a much better job remembering to do my mini-sketch everyday. However, I'm getting a bit bored with the form, so I might have to change things up for February. I will stick with mini-sketches until the end of month because it takes a month for a habit to stick.

How were you creative this weekend?

Now, Less Mom Guilt at Chick-Fil-A

2012-01-14T14:05:00.000-05:00

My friends laugh at me because of my favorite places to take the kids is to our local Chick-fil-A. We go quite often. It opened last summer and has an indoor play area. The staff is friendly and helpful (they clear my table for me!) and its always clean. We go there on Family night because the kids eat free and there's usually crafts and a magician. To top it all off they even offer free WiFi-though I never use it because I'm too busy with the kids.

It's the holy grail of Chick-fil-A's. I go there for the indoor play area, especially in the wintertime. It lets the kids get their sillies out while I soak up some me time on the other side of the mostly soundproof glass walls of the play area.

After running an errand after school, I knew I'd be home too late to cook dinner so off we went to our favorite place. It also didn't hurt that Chick-fil-A is offering new options for their kids meals. Now there's grilled chicken nuggets and all natural applesauce along the original fried chicken nuggets with a side of fries or fruit cup.

While Jaxson sucked up the applesauce and asked for more, Sophia was a bit wary of the applesauce. Why? It comes in a squeeze bag, and she's only eaten it out a jar or those single serving cups. I've seen those squeeze bags of fruit at the grocery store but never bought it. After I convinced to taste the applesauce (it took awhile), she loved it. Jaxson also ate more grilled nuggets at one sitting than he usually would with the fried ones. It was a win-win for us.

Whenever we go out for fast food, I feel slightly guilty. Sometimes fast food is just better for my sanity and I have to feed the kids. I think I'm going to feel less guilty about taking my kids to Chick-fil-A.

Anyone up for a play date at Chick-fil-A?

Photo from Chick-fil-A because by the time I remembered to take a photo, all the food was eaten. This not a compensated post. I paid for our food. Chick-fil-A has no idea that I'm writing about them.

Beefy Noodle Stir Fry with Veggies

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

During a trip to our Asian market this weekend, I sampled some stir fried noodles. While the sample was a bit oily for my tasted, I really liked the noodles. They were thick and had a slight chew. Even better, they were already cooked and frozen.

All I needed to do was to thaw them in warm water and toss them into my skillet. I was sold! No extra time to boil a pot of water to cook the noodles.

My beefy noodles was a sort of sweep the kitchen. I sauteed thinly slicked carrot, celery, and some enoki mushrooms with garlic and sesame oil. I threw in the defrosted noodles, pour some oyster sauce on top and toss it around. We had some leftover steak from the night before, so I sliced it thinly and added the beef along with sugar snap peas at the very end just to heat them up.

Garnish it with some bean sprouts, lime juice, and some Sriracha.

Hubby was lucky we had enough leftover for his lunch the next day.

Mini Watercolor Sketches: Creative Everyday Week 1

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

I did it! I finished the first week of Creative Everyday.

For my Creative Everyday project, I grabbed a new journal/sketchbook. It's a bigger format than I'm used to at 9"x12". The first time I opened my sketchbook, I felt very intimidated. How was I going to fill up this page? Instead, I divided the page up into 6 sections, about 2x3 inches each. I eyeballed it so they're not exactly the same size.

When I sketch, I'm always stomped by what to draw. Since I just bought myself some new shirts on the 1st, I did a mini-sketch about what my daily wardrobe usually consists of. Not exactly thrilling, but it was something. I was so happy with the sketch, I continued on the theme. Each day, my sketch was about something that I did or something that happened that day. Sort of like a visual diary.

Here's a close up of Thursday, when we had Chinese takeout for dinner. Next to it was my Friday sketch, ready for some watercolors.

I almost forgot to sketch on Saturday. In fact, I dragged myself out of bed to do it. The reason I forgot was that I had closed my sketchbook and piled some stuff on it. The other days, it was sitting open to the colorful mini diary entries. I would look at it and realize that I should take 5 minutes to sketch.

Sometimes I fill in the sketches right away with my watercolors. Other days I painted 2 days worth. As you can see the day next to my Chinese take out still needs color.

So far I'm happy with my progress. Seeing all of my sketches on the same pages makes me smile and makes me feel productive. It's amazing what I can do in 5 minutes. It's also been a great way for me to quiet my brain and recall what I did that day.

Did you do something creative this weekend?

My Morning Cuppa: Tea Forte Kati Tea Brewing System (Review)

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have been dying to tell you about my new tea cup brewer. Except I couldn't because I bought one as a Christmas gift for my sister and had to wait before I could try out mine. It would have been rude to use my purty tea cup in front of her.

When I first read about Tea Forte's Kati Tea Brewing System in Oprah magazine, I immediately knew I wanted one. Oh and one for my sister. The Kati is a single serve tea cup with a mesh infuser for loose. I have a thing for teacups without a handle. You have to cup your hands around it and absorb its warmth. With the Kati, I don't have to worry about it becoming to hot to handle. It is made of ceramic and double walled. Which means it keeps your tea hot longer.

Turned upside down, the lid also becomes a resting spot for your tea infuser. The longer you leave your tea leaves, the strong your tea will be. However, if you leave it in too long (or forget about it like I usually do), your tea can become bitter. Not a good cuppa. Sometimes I leave out the infuser and use tea bags. Once my tea steeps to my liking, I set the tea bag on the lid. Easy and I don't have to get out of my chair. Bonus.

The Kati comes in lots of pretty colors. I got the tree with the leaves up there, my sister got one with long zen-like spring grass, and hubby got a bright red one. It's now my favorite cup to drink tea when I'm at my desk. When I'm around the kids I use a travel mug-don't want anyone to burn themselves.

The Tea Forte Kati Brewing System retails for $15 and is available in 8 colors/designs. They also sell lots of tea as well.

What's in your cuppa?

I purchased all three Kati Tea Brewing systems myself. Now I need another excuse to buy some of Tea Forte's tea. Affiliate links are included in this post.

No More Soy Sauce

2012-01-04T07:30:00.000-05:00

I hope I don't have to turn in my Asian card. Currently we have no soy sauce in our home. Not even the little packets of fake hydrogenized soy sauce they throw in your Chinese take out bag. Though I did find some packets of duck sauce. Though I'm not sure why it's even called duck sauce.

Running out of soy sauce is truly an emergency. It's almost as bad as when I ran out of rice. All kinds of rice. No sweet rice, no jasmine rice, no brown rice. Ok, I had a cup of black rice left but I don't think the kids would eat it.

I guess I'll have to drag myself out in the cold and hit the Asian market. For soy sauce. I still have brown rice, thank goodness.

What pantry staples do you always keep in stock?

Photo by FotoosVanRobin via Creative Commons

Creative Everyday: To Join or Not?

2012-01-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year my creative friends! As you know, I've been thinking a lot about my intentions and projects for 2012. Using the Goddess Leonie's 2012 Creating My Goddess Year has helped a lot. Every year I vow to find more time for creativity. And somehow it just doesn't happen.

For 2012, I wanted some accountability for my creative goals. At the very last minute, I've decided to try Leah's Creative Everyday Challenge again. I tried a couple of years ago but fizzled out early. I think it was because I didn't have a clear focus for my challenge. For the first month, I want to sketch and paint more.

My friend Karen of TimeCrafted joined the challenge. I think doing it together will help me out a lot. I also got my friend Janin to join as well.

My main creative goal this year is to find more artsy and crafty friends. Not just all the people I've met online, but people I can meet with on a monthly basis. I'm going to start a monthly art group. I think the first few months might be a small group, but as I meet more people I think it will be a really great group of people. It's going to be really low key. The idea is to have each person bring whatever project they're working on and we hang out and create cool stuff. If you're local and are interested in a monthly art and craft meeting, email me at kimstoys at gmail dot com.

I'd like to sew more this year, not just for the kids but for me. I'm not committing to any specific number of projects because I want to be realistic. I can't do it all. Yes, I just said that. I wish I could and still get in plenty of sleep but I can't.

What are your creative goals for 2012? Do you want to learn a new craft?