Supergirl's Blog

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 6.19.2013 Edition

2013-06-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

What if all the bees died off?

Superhero capes for wee sick ones

Ricotta and a terrifying near-death experience

Cheating ourselves of sleep

Sesame Street creates a puppet whose Dad is in jail; too many kids relate

Father's Day Present

2013-06-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

We don't buy presents for each other on Father's Day but that doesn't mean that a homemade gift isn't appreciated.

I like to get creative with Scott's gifts from Molly. She's not yet of an age where she can contribute a lot but that doesn't mean that she doesn't get involved.

I found this fun download on eighteen25 and knew a book about Dad was just the gift we were looking for. I printed out the pages and got to work. I handed Molly some crayons and after doing my part, gave her the pages to draw on. They needed a special Molly touch.

Then I sent off a bunch of photos to Walgreens for printing. Their app is so simple and easy to use and the best part is that printing photos is cheap!

Scott loved his book on Father's Day. Molly sat with him and showed him all the pages. They talked about the photos of the two of them and the adventures they had in the past year. It was super cute to watch.

I found the photo album at JoAnn's and decided to leave a few pages blank. I told Scott that he and Molly can fill them in with more photos this summer.

8 in 2013 - Pixel People - Star Wars - Enemies Finished!

2013-06-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

In January, I talked about my 8 in 2013 goals and over the weekend, I finished another one! I finished the Wee Little Stitches Star Wars Enemies cross stitch.

I've been differing on this project and on Saturday night, I decided to just finish it. Now I need to decide what to do with it. I don't see Scott enjoying a framed cross stitch project in his office so I'm thinking about making it into a pillow for the guest room/craft room. He uses the room for exercising and could enjoy the pillow there.

This was a fun and could have been a quick project. Wee Little Stitches has a ton of these kind of cross stitch projects. I'm trying to resist purchasing them all!

My 8 in 2013 goals (and their status)

2 cross stitch patterns (Woodland Sampler (I'm behind on this but plan to catch up this week) and ~~Wee Little Stitches Star Wars people)~~
2 quilts (One for Molly and finish up my Pinwheel Quilt) - I am nowhere near finishing these projects but once my craft room is back together, I hope to be able to get working on them.
2 knitted projects (a Year in Temperatures scarf and my Smitten Advent Calendar) - I'm also behind on my scarf but that would be easy to catch up on. I haven't knit on mittens in awhile so I think I need to figure out a weekly goal for myself so I can get this done. I mean there are only 24 mittens to do and I think I have 6 of them already done.
2 photography challenges (~~Fat Mum Slim's January Challenge~~ and something else that I need to decide on) I've decided on my new photography challenge and expect to be starting and announcing it in a few weeks.

Sunday Favorites

2013-06-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

My favorites are bursting with color this week. You can really tell that Summer is here and people are out enjoying it.

1. Untitled, 2. sunshine in a jar, 3. Barn Raising Quilt, 4. Monika at a ghost church, NV, 5. Untitled, 6. Beautiful, happy @agaimages #potluckpowwow, 7. Bouquet of work gloves., 8. Untitled, 9. David, 10. vinyl, 11. The view from here., 12. denims, 13. Untitled, 14. Day 2321, 15. Partly cloudy., 16. Butterfly Kisses For You, 17. my curious little one, 18. Untitled, 19. Tonight we walked from the town where we are staying to neighbouring Cambrils. The light was magical ✨, 20. Dogs, 21. yogurt cake, 22. Our apartment in Cambrils #iseefaces, 23. Hi Spain!, 24. pushing cantaloupe, 25. before bed

(Grand) Father's Day

2013-06-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

This year will be my Dad's second Father's Day as a Grandpa and this year he is celebrating it with TWO granddaughters. I don't think he could have even dreamed of this three years ago. When I told him I was pregnant with Molly, he informed me that he had decided just that week that he was ready to be a Grandfather. I was happy to make him one and then this year my brother had his first child which made my Dad an even grander Grandfather.

He's a really good Grandpa too. Every Tuesday when my Dad comes to pick up my Mom, Molly greets him at the door. She gets super excited and if he doesn't spend at least 5 minutes with her, then she gets upset. She loves her weekly Grandpa time.

In April, we left her with my parents for the weekend and they had a grand time. I think my Dad might have had the best time because he quickly booked a few more weekends with her.

I knew my Dad was going to be a great Grandpa. He's been a really fantastic father! He knows everything (seriously, I'm not sure how but the man knows all sorts of crazy facts), he's helpful and most importantly he is caring. Happy (Grand)Father's Day, Dad! I hope your grandaughters really spoil you tomorrow!

Make Your Own Trail Mix

2013-06-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

I love trail mix as a snack. It's portable. It's full of goodness and lasts a long time. I, however, often get bored by the selection in the store so I like to get creative and make my own special mixes.

The best part of making your own trail mix is that you can put in your favorite ingredients and leave out the ones you don't like as much.

For instance, I am really into yogurt raisins right now so this mix is a bit heavy on the yogurt raisins. What are your favorite trail mix ingredients? Are you as addicted as I am or do you just save it for camping?

Make Your Own Trail Mix
Makes 5 cups

Ingredients
1 cup toasted oats
2 cups nuts of your choice
1 1/2 cups coconut flakes
2 cups dried fruit of your choice
1 cup yogurt raisins

Directions
1. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and mix.
2. Place into mason jars and store for up to a month in a cool, dark place. I like to put about a cup each into 5 jars so that the trail mix stays fresher longer.
3. Enjoy!

Pinterest Thursday - 7 Minute Workout

2013-06-13T13:21:00.001-07:00

I've been wanting to try the 7 minute workout because everyone says it is HARD. I figured 7 HARD minutes of exercise couldn't be that bad, right?

I have to say that it wasn't that bad! I ended up taking 8 minutes because I decided that the side plank should be done on both sides of the body. The push-up with rotation was horribly bad but I did it. I just didn't look good doing it.

But by the end of my 8 minute workout, I was feeling fierce! I think this would be a great workout for when you are short on time, traveling or even just getting back into working out. I'm going to suggest that Scott try this out. He's often running short on workout time and this might be just the ticket.

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 6.12.2013 Edition

2013-06-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

What I Learned (Too Late) About Keeping Kids Safe Around Dogs This is why I have been carefully teaching Molly to wave at doggies. We never run up to doggies and never touch them without their and their owner's permission. We always wave first. So far she has done really well respecting the boundaries of dogs while growing her great love of them.

Is this proof the Virgin Queen was an imposter in drag? Fascinating! Could it be true?

How Not to Be Alone

Foraging for free food and where to find the good stuff Here in Seattle, the trails are bursting with berries in the summer. Last week, Molly and I took a hike with a friend who introduced us to tasty Salmon Berries. Molly snarfed them up. Looks like we'll need to keep hunting for berries this year.

Stairway to Heaven

Home Organization 101

2013-06-11T15:51:00.001-07:00

One of my forums on Ravelry recently suggested that we all take part in the Home Organization 101 Challenge and because I'm a sucker for a good challenge and a clean house, I quickly jumped in!

Last week we tackled the kitchen and I was pleased to quickly go from this:

to this:

And most of my drawers went from chaos,

to neat and tidy.

The nicest part was that I was able to tackle the kitchen over three days of naps. I split it into three sections and I was even able to wax the floor! Ahhh the simple things in life really make me happy.

This week we are taking on the garage and while I haven't had a chance to get out there just yet, I expect that this will be an excellent challenge. I'm looking forward to a very organized home in 14 weeks. You can join the challenge, here, if you are interested.

Happy Marriage, Happy Life

2013-06-10T14:29:00.003-07:00

I was just sitting here trying to figure out what to write today. I decided to do what I do best and browse the Internet (I'm really good at it, too bad you can't get a job browsing the web because I would be hired on the spot) when I found this article 10 SECRETS TO A LONG-LASTING MARRIAGE. I decided to read it to see if I agreed. Scott and I only have three years of marriage under our belt but I've watched my parent's very happy marriage for my entire life so I feel like I know a few things. Neat fact: My parents have been married 40 years this year! Isn't that crazy?

Anyway, here are the 10 "secrets" she lists, along with my thoughts.

1. Giving Time A Chance Relationships do get easier the longer you are in them. I know a lot about Scott now and I know what kinds of things are going to get his goat. It's nice to have that comfort of time together. Of course this can be a double-edged sword because sometimes with time and knowledge you can get lazy and stop thinking about the other person.
2. Communication With A Capitol "C" This one is HUGE for us, especially with the addition of Molly. I do tend to be an over-communicator and Scott tends to under-communicate but we really communicate with each other. We'll sit down and talk about how to make things better. We are also big into being more efficient so we'll sit down and map out a plan to do things more efficiently and along the way we end up communicating our wants and desires.
3. Respect Respecting your partner is big. If you don't respect the person you are with, then why are you with them? I try to show my respect for Scott by not telling people his secrets or sharing things that are private. I'm not perfect and I have overshared before but I try hard not to because I really respect him and want to show that.
4. Compromise Ahhhh compromise, the true secret to a happy marriage. Sometimes I really do not want to watch that stupid Sci-Fi show but I know that it will really make Scott happy to watch it. So you know what I do? I watch it and I knit and sometimes the show is pretty entertaining.
5. Sacrifice I'm always surprised to hear that other couples don't sacrifice for each other. I mean really? This is the person you have decided to spend the rest of your life with and you can't put aside your own selfish desires once in a while for them? Now I don't believe that you should sacrifice everything for anyone else but a little sacrifice at times can lead to bigger things down the road.
6. Sense of Humor Humor is a key cornerstone of Scott and I's relationship. We laugh at our faults all the time. We poke good humored fun at each other daily. The best is when we mock ourselves and then get the other laughing. We have some really good laughs together.
7. Keep Dating This one is HARD when a child. You have to arrange childcare and then figure out what to do and try not to only talk about your kid but it is important. Whenever I feel like Scott and I haven't had any good solid time together, I arrange childcare and get us a reservation at a good restaurant where we can talk, enjoy good food at a leisurely pace and have a good time. It always refreshes our relationship. We also have mini dates after Molly goes to bed. We get a movie on Amazon Instant, get a treat (peanut butter chocolate ice cream please!) and cuddle up on the couch.
8. Commitment is Crucial When Scott and I got married, I told him that he was stuck with me forever. And I really mean it. I do not commit unless I am commited! I'm also that person that goes to bed angry at you but I insist that you sleep next to me so you can feel my anger all night long. You can't escape!
9. Acceptance Along with commitment comes acceptance. You can't get married and expect your partner to change. They are who they are! I am an annoying, highly organized, have to be early person. Scott is not organized and hates being on time. But we've accepted this about each other and we compromise. We try to arrive on time to events and Scott has a pile that I organize. Everyone wins this way.
10. Remember Why You Married Your Spouse This one is easy for me. I never forget why I married Scott. I do think it is excellent advice because as time goes on and you get very comfortable, there is a natural tendency to forget why you decided to settle down with this one person. It's good to remember the excitement you had when you married them.

I think I pretty much agree with her 10 secrets. Would you add anything to this list?

Sunday Favorites

2013-06-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

My favorites this week are making me feel both crafty and hungry! So many delicious looking photos. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

1. Wild Raspberries, 2. Time to sew! #quilting, 3. bunny of envy, 4. Summer X-Stitch!, 5. great wheel of seattle, 6. January Day, 7. Untitled, 8. Two words: @WarbyParker. Shipped UPS 2 day to Puerto Rico. Arrived early today, out of the box, on and off we went. Perfect fit. Perfect rx lens work. Will be the first of many future pairs. Thank you! Next time, polarized rx sunglasses. ;) #Huxley #Sanda, 9. My Faves, 10. happy hexagon, 11. week two hundred & ten, 12. Winter thyme, 13. from the oven, poof!, 14. the day we said goodbye to the sf moma. we are greatly anticipating the re-opening in 3 years. cheers., 15. Mr Winter, NY Botanical Gardens, 16. The Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon, 17. I need a moth ID, 18. sleepy little man, 19. a special, 20. Heaven: berry pumpkin muffin, blended soy chai & a Patricia Briggs book. I love it when I use my lunches. #cooperstarcoffee, 21. afternoon snack, 22. Ballet Slippers, 23. Corinne's Thread: Baby Pants, 24. last chore of the day: quick pickles for snacky bee, 25. Dipping a toe back into the sewing waters...

On Swimming

2013-06-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

There are few things that I enjoy more in life than swimming. I love the rush of the water as I glide through it. I love feeling the air on my arms when they push up through the water before diving back in.

Today was my return to outdoor swimming at Mounger Pool which for me means that summer is officially here! When I was pregnant with Molly, I swam most days at Noon at Mounger Pool. Then last summer, Molly and I took lessons twice a week there. It really is our favorite pool in Seattle.

In just two short weeks, Molly and I will be back for our twice weekly swim lessons. I suspect we'll take advantage of the family swim a few times a week, as well. As for me, I'm going to try to lap swim at least twice a week at the pool. It means a little bit of scheduling to do so during the week but there is always Saturday and Sunday lap swim time!

Today after breakfast, Molly and Scott accompanied me to the pool. There is a wonderful park next door so they went over there to play while I swam 18 laps. They came in and watched me complete my last lap. My initial goal was 12 laps so I feel pretty good to have done 18 especially after not swimming all winter. Now I feel energized and ready to take on the day while my family naps. Molly was up very early this morning and everyone is very tired. Heck, maybe I'll take a nap too.

Healthy, Tasty Snacks

2013-06-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Molly and I are often on the go which can make snack time a little tricky. I'm also trying to eat healthy and having a snack with me helps to prevent my many drive-thru stops at Starbucks.

This weekend, we made a big trip to Costco and I loaded up on snack options. I bought applesauce packets, mixed nuts, fruit, little cheeses, single-hummus packages, carrots and cheese sticks.

When we got home, I decided to make up snack packs for the week. Molly usually has two snacks a day so I decided that would also work for me. I laid out 10 ziplock bags and got to work. I pulled out my scale and weighed out 1-oz servings of mixed nuts. I pulled out 5 hummus packages and packaged up 5 ziplock bags of carrots (I used the snack-pack sizes for this). Then I gathered up 10 cheese sticks. We love our cheese sticks! I also put out 10 packages of applesauce. I thought about using apples but they get bruised when I carry them around in my bag. The applesauce pouches are just more portable but I will switch out the pouches for a whole apple when we are home for snack time.

I started assembling my packages. I started with my snack packs first. Into each ziplock bag, I put a bag of nuts, a cheese stick, an applesauce, a hummus and carrots. Then I put together Molly's snack packs. She got an applesauce, a cheese stick, banana chips and a cereal bar.

So far our snack packs have been lifesavers! We went to the Zoo a few days ago and stayed longer than I anticipated so Molly was ravenous. I pulled out our snack packs and feed her both sets of snacks. When we got home, I put together a new snack pack for the afternoon. I haven't been as hungry and have been feeling more energetic which is great!

What kinds of things do you like to snack on? What would go in your ideal snack pack?

Amanda - I can already sense that, like Scott, you hate the word "snack pack". However, I can't think of a better description for a snack pack!

Pinterest Thursday - Coconut Banana Bread

2013-06-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

I decided to take on a baking Pin this week because honestly I wanted to bake and I had some bananas that were in dire need of being used before they went to the great compost heap in the sky. I luckily had all the ingredients for this Pin in my cupboard and Molly took a nice long nap so I was able to bake some treats for her afternoon snack.

I started by gathering my ingredients. The recipe calls for one loaf pan but I decided that mini muffins would be more fun so I greased up (using coconut oil) my mini muffin tin. I ended up having enough batter for mini muffins and a small loaf though.

I decided to add chocolate chips to the recipe because you can not go wrong with chocolate chips. And I was right, they only made the bread more yummy!

Here is the recipe which is delicious and I highly recommend that you make RIGHT NOW!

Coconut Banana Bread (credit: Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body)

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups self rising flour (use all purpose and increase baking soda to 1 tsp)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 medium overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup light coconut milk
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut (or shredded coconut)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
In the bowl using a wooden spoon mix the oil and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the mashed banana and the coconut milk.
Gradually mix in the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients. Start and end with the dry mixture. Mix until just combined. Stir in the flaked coconut.
Pour the batter to the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 1 hour – 1 hour and 15 minutes, when a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 6.5.2013 Edition

2013-06-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

Michael Pollan and Ruth Reichl Hash out the Food Revolution

Please be quiet!

Stunning photos of a woman giving birth outside a hospital This woman is hard core awesome!

Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes and it is the most awesome thing ever!

What is happening in Turkey?

A Trip to the Aquarium!

2013-06-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we took a family trip to the Seattle Aquarium. When we entered there was a HUGE tank full of fish and a scuba diver who was busy feeding the fish. Molly was fascinated by fish and the scuba diver.

We then visited the Puget Sound tide pools exhibit where you can touch the starfish, sea cucumbers and even a hermit crab! Molly was tickled pink by the water and didn't even seem to notice all the cool creatures waiting to be touched.

I did get her to touch a starfish which was hard because she is not gentle with her touching yet. We were able to get one quick stroke in before she returned to splashing water. She may have splashed some of the other patrons. Oops!

We next strolled through the fish tanks and checked out all the colorful fish. Molly loved the tanks that were at her level and we lifted her up to the taller ones. She pretty much ran around yelling, FISHHHHHHH the entire time we were in the fish tank area.

We next moved onto the Salmon and bigger sea creature area. We got to see Fur Seals, Otters and some Harbor Seals. Molly was quite excited by the larger creatures and clapped when they swam by.

We finished with a visit to a sleeping river otter. Molly didn't even notice him for awhile. I told Scott that he reminded me of our cat.

Phoebe Mouse

2013-06-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

This year I decided to get a head start on Molly's 2nd Birthday Sweater which is good since I've been having some issues with fit. While I've been contemplating my plan of attack, I decided to work on the other part of her birthday present, Phoebe Mouse!

I also used Phoebe Mouse as research since she has a sweater that matches the one I'm making Molly so it gave me a chance to check out the fit and gauge. Phoebe Mouse came together so fast and was so much fun to knit! Her hips came out a little twisted for some reason but I decided to leave them because 1) it is funny 2) Molly will never notice and 3) I'm not knitting it again!

You will noticed that Phoebe Mouse's sweater does not yet have buttons. I haven't decided what buttons I'll be using on Molly's sweater and since I'd like for them to match, I'm holding off on adding the buttons.

I'm so excited about giving Phoebe Mouse to Molly that I almost want to give it to her early. She's already seen Phoebe Mouse once on accident and gave her the biggest hug. She also started undressing her which is her current favorite activity to do with all of her baby dolls. I have a suspicion that this will be a well received gift!

Until November though, I've hidden Phoebe Mouse and will be re-starting on Molly's 2nd Birthday Sweater this week. I also have some plans to make more outfits for Phoebe Mouse and my being SUPER ahead plan will hopefully allow for that.

Sunday Favorites

2013-06-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

Summer is definitely here this weekend and I'm going to soak up all the sun I can. I'm also going to take all the photos I can while the light is so beautiful. What is the sun inspiring in you?

Here are my favorites from Flickr this week:

1. Blooming Potholders, 2. Persona Posters, 3. Molly's Sketchbook: Wool and Liberty Teddy Bear, 4. DSC_6597, 5. uh oh..., 6. fallen, 7. Instant Service, 8. HipstaPrint, 9. watercolor, 10. Happy Hexagon Throw, 11. Miner's Castle, 12. Dark World, 13. radishes!, 14. Photo by Bobby, 15. Untitled, 16. Jackson's Bay, 17. Sunny Spread, 18. Ending a perfectly sunny bank holiday weekend with a glass of Pimms and a beer in the last of the light... ☺, 19. Les fraises, 20. hmm..., 21. for bff-baby, 22. day 146/365, 23. Chance of Showers, 24. a rare summer day in san francisco, 25. No Gloss Here - my coffee table

May Photo a Day

2013-06-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

Another month of daily photos from Fat Mum Slim prompts! I had a great time taking these photos and am looking forward to continuing on with another month of daily photos. I'm really having fun stretching my photography skills as some of these prompts are hard and give me quite the challenge. This month I'm going to try to take more photos with my Nikon than with my iPhone even though my iPhone is a great camera.

Interested in joining us in June? Find the prompts at Fat Mum Slim!

1. What I Bought #fmsphotoaday, 2. Morning Ritual #fmsphotoaday All the coffee!, 3. This is really good! #fmsphotoaday sun + Molly = good stuff!, 4. In my cup #fmsphotoaday COFFEE!, 5. Paper #fmsphotoaday wherein I read Louise Penny, a Canadian author whilst in Canada!, 6. Broken #fmsphotoaday a broken pedal on a tricycle, 7. Something that starts with F #fmsphotoaday BCFerries, 8. Shape #fmsphotoaday Beach Logs have great shapes!, 9. A snack #fmsphotoaday Gelato makes a perfect vacation snack, 10. Stars #fmsphotoaday, 11. A Smile #fmsphotoaday Molly had the biggest smile when we let her play at the train table after breakfast., 12. I Ran Like A Mother! And my fans cheered like family!, 13. Sunset #fmsphotoaday, 14. 7 am #fmsphotoaday Morning drinks and playtime, 15. Need #fmsphotoaday I need my iPad and knitting (and a better memory to post photos I took on the proper day), 16. Mailbox #fmsphotoaday We have a funky mailbox, 17. Season #fmsphotoaday Spring is alive and well in Seattle., 18. Want #fmsphotoaday I really wanted dessert tonight so I made Banana Cream pudding layered with mini nilla wafers & topped with whipped cream., 19. View #fmsphotoaday one of my favorite views is watching Molly play. She's diapering her dolly here., 20. Light #fmsphotoaday I liked the light on Molly at the playground this afternoon, 21. I care about this #fmsphotoaday pain in the butt cat! Kato drives me crazy but I love him almost as much as Molly does., 22. Change #fmsphotoaday found in my purse (forgot to post this yesterday), 23. PJs (and rain boots) #fmsphotoaday this is how we roll to swim lessons, 24. Go! #fmsphotoaday, 25. US #fmsphotoaday, 26. Fave thing to do #fmsphotoaday is spend time with my smooshies!, 27. Can't Live Without #fmsphotoaday my smooshie (even when he is sick) xoxo, 28. What I'm doing now #fmsphotoaday Walking Greenlake with @kelseym and getting drenched! It was a great walk in the end though full of good conversation., 29. Kiss #fmsphotoaday kisses from momma, 30. Tools #fmsphotoaday these are the tools of my trade, 31. 4 Things #fmsphotoaday Four stuffed animals32. Not available33. Not available34. Not available35. Not available

Wheatless Energy Bites

2013-05-31T16:56:00.001-07:00

There is a coffee shop that I often visit after Molly and I go around Greenlake. It has good parking and is on the way to the place I pick up my Mom from her cardio rehab program. The coffee is good but their snacks are even better.

They have these Wheatless Breakfast Bars that are delicious but at $2.50 a piece, I knew my addiction to these bars would be hard on my wallet. After reading the ingredient list, I decided to re-create these at home. I'm so glad I did because these are a delightful little treat for both Molly and me.

Wheatless Energy Bars

Makes 14 bars

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper.

2. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Using a rubber spatula, spread the mix into the prepared pan.

4. Refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight before cutting the bars into 14 pieces.

5. Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee or tea.

Pinterest Thursday - Flavored Waters

2013-05-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

I'm always looking for more ways to drink more water. I'm pretty addicted to sparkling water (Cascade Fresh Lime from Trader Joe's) but sometimes I run out and can't get to the store to get more. Plain tap water is pretty good in those times but flavored water is even better! This pin caught my eye because I happened to have all the ingredients in my fridge and they needed to be used up.

I filled one jar with a sliced up orange, lemon and lime. The other jar with frozen blueberries, half a sliced lime and a sliced lemon.

Then because I don't have a proper muddler (which is hard to believe considering just how stocked my kitchen is from my previous job), I used a wooden spoon to muddle the fruit a bit before adding ice to the top of the jar.

I shook the jars around a bit and put on the lids. I let them sit overnight in the fridge and in the morning I had delicious flavored water without any sugar (other than the natural fruit sugars) or other unnecessary ingredients.

I'm almost tempted to give up my sparkling water just for these flavored waters. Nah, I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon. I like the carbonation too much. However, these waters are a great alternative.

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 5.29.2013 Edition

2013-05-29T06:33:00.000-07:00

Canned Peaches Are As Nutritious As Fresh. Really?

Bridge collapses over 1-5, North of Seattle This is a road that I take often! It's scary to think of a major bridge collapsing but lucky everyone got out alive.

Billy Joel on Not Working and Not Giving Up Drinking

What happens when you wrong dial a game developer Hilarious!

100 Websites You Should Know and Use

Bedroom Re-Do!

2013-05-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

When we moved into this house two and half years ago, we decided to prioritize which rooms were decorated when in an effort to use our money wisely. We had moved from a 600 square foot condo into a 2,200 square foot house which meant we had a lot of extra space. I now wonder where all that space went and we are still in the midst of decorating our "new" house.

We started with the dining room since we were hosting Thanksgiving that year and I wanted it to look extra nice. Then we moved onto the den and made that into a "man cave" though with the addition of Molly, the room is now covered with toys. I also spruced up my laundry room and still have plans to paint floor one day. When we did Molly's room, we also spiced up the kitchen with new paint.

In January, I decided it was Scott and I's turn to have our room done. We didn't want to spend a lot of money but we wanted the room to have a lot of pop! We talked about inspiration and settled on an Amsterdam theme. We wanted a feeling of Amsterdam in our bedroom, from the colors to the artwork.

I then visited my favorite place, Home Depot to find the perfect paint color. After narrowing it down to two, I came home and painted them on the wall. While mulling over the two paint choices, I decided to paint our closet. The previous owners had removed some sort of wallpaper border in the closet, leaving a long strip of ick. I spackled and sandpapered my heart out before applying a nice clean coat of white paint.

We debated a bit more on the paint color before settling on the dark purple. We decided to do the wall behind our bed with the purple and finish off the other walls with a crisp white. The painting took me over a month to complete. I tackled walls during Molly's naps and on weekends. We lived with our bed in the middle of the room for a very long time. It was annoying to have one's pillow fall off the bed in the middle of the night. That is when we decided that a headboard was very important to us. We talked about making a headboard but when I saw a white, tuffed headboard on The Foundary for an awesome price, I knew it was going to be better to purchase one than make one.

We next moved onto the curtains, the previous owners had left these hideous roman shades. While they worked to block out the sun and provide privacy, they were not something we wanted to keep around. Window treatments are notoriously expensive though and I was not interested in spending $500 for some curtains.

After a lot of research and a lot of discussion, we decided to go with cheap vinyl roller shades paired with some sheer curtains. We found the roller shade at Home Depot and Ikea had an ingenious corner curtain rod which was perfect for our corner window. I added four curtain panels and it was complete!

I also found some fun frames which we are filling with photographs from our honeymoon in Paris and Amsterdam. I replaced our non-matching lamps with two matching lamps in brushed nickle and purged our room of any unnecessary items. That was a BIG trip to the Goodwill!

We are so happy with how the room turned out. We're still looking for some artwork for the wall across from our bed as we fell the one photo is a bit lonely. The most important lesson I learned from this project is that home improvement projects take two to three times as long with a child. Everything just takes longer with a child. I'm not building that into all of my future plans.

Beach Combing at Golden Gardens

2013-05-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

Late on Saturday night, I noticed a tweet about low tide and beach naturalists at Golden Gardens for Sunday. I told Scott that we should head down to the beach in the morning to check out the sea animals and show Molly the low tide. Scott had never seen low tide at Golden Gardens either so he was excited for our beach adventure.

We packed Molly and all her stuff up for the beach. She insisted on wearing her backpack and we couldn't leave without her bucket!

The beach was covered with people and most importantly, beach naturalists. I have been on the hunt for starfish for YEARS! I've seen them at the aquarium but never in the wild. I quickly asked the naturalists if they had seen any starfish and if so, where could I find them. They pointed me down the beach and said to check in the tide pools under the big rocks.

We headed down to the far end of the beach, an area that is usually covered in water. It took us awhile to make it down the beach as Molly felt the need to inspect every speck of sand, every piece of seaweed and all the rocks. She even met a few doggies along the way and got in a few pets. So pretty much, Molly's mind was blown by our beach adventures before we had even found anything cool!

Just as we were getting tired of walking and looking for my elusive starfish, we found a hoard of them! Seriously there were over 20 in one tiny little area. It was amazing. I started snapping photos and we helped Molly sneak a feel of one of the starfish. Her eyes lit up when she felt the rough yet slimy skin of the starfish.

After I got my fill of the starfish, we headed back to the car. We spotted some trains on the tracks above the beach. Molly stared at them as they passed high above her head. She is fascinated by trains.

We were also lucky enough to spot a Heron munching on some lunch. The naturalists told us it was a fish even though from our vantage point, we could have sworn he was eating a snake.

If you are interested in checking out the low tides in Seattle, you can find more information on the Seattle Aquarium Website. Molly, Scott and I are already planning our next beach adventure!

Sunday Favorites

2013-05-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

Just a few of my favorite photos! Enjoy!

1. Untitled, 2. 20 :: 52, 3. I'd rather be, 4. Whit's Knits: Pin Loom Coasters, 5. I found an incomplete list of Jay-z's 99 problems this morning. @welikeyou does this belong to you? So far, the list contains 44 problems, but 30-44 are penciled in. Keep it going! #psugd, 6. first harvest, 7. kew, 8. samsplosionedit, 9. #yeahgirlyeah - smudgy mirror edition, 10. 137.365 - remote, 11. Who's got two thumbs, spells things with extra Us, & just passed her citizenship test? THIS GIRL., 12. an sk weeknight dinner, 13. perfect nursing top-1.jpg, 14. big breakfast, 15. Pink scraps, 16. Stacey had a Birthday, 17. Today we shot at Petersham Nurseries and it was all kinds of beautiful..., 18. dolly., 19. Untitled, 20. reds, 21. blues, 22. 1,280 one-inch hexagons, 23. Horses, 24. Some deliciousness from a beautiful shoot day with the dream team @jossherd73 & @schonnemann, 25. Food Revolution Day! These beauties are courtesy of the Meringue Girls #FRD2013