Silly Happy Sweet

SHS Book Club: How to Bake a Perfect Life

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:00:00 +0000

I needed a 'chick-lit' book for easy reading after that long Stephen King 11-22-63 book. How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal was a great choice.

When I think about how to describe this book, the word "cozy" comes to mind. The plot centers around Ramona Gallagher, a professional baker. I love how the author weaves in Ramona's love of bread and provides the reader such great background about the history of a precious dough. I read this book on a plane and never wanted to eat a nice, warm slice of sourdough more in my life. It took me back to a trip we took to Alaska and a wonderful bakery that had a sourdough starter that went back a hundred years. Mmmmmm!

Ok, so yumminess aside (did I mention that the book includes recipes?), the plot of the book was interesting and unique. Without giving too much away, you learn about how Ramona became a baker and follow her through as she tries to keep her bakery running. She has a daughter who is going through some strife. And she is caring for her step-granddaughter due to certain events. It is through her witnessing her step-granddaughter that you learn about Ramona's childhood. The book was certainly somewhat predictable but that didn't matter at all. The story is genuine and heartfelt. I love that is takes place in Colorado too.

If you are looking for a sweet book, an easy read, and just a downright enjoyable read then How to Bake a Perfect Life would suit you. It's a perfect summer read for sure.

After I read How to Bake a Perfect Life, the news about the Ohio women who were held captive broke. I was searching for another book to read so from chick-lit to biography I went. I had wanted to read the Jaycee Dugard book for some time but I knew it would be heavy and scary. I'm so glad I did though. I can't wait to share what God showed me through reading that book in a future post!

Are you on Goodreads.com? I love that site because based on books you have read and rated, it provides you recommendations--the Pandora for books I guess you could say. I'm http://www.goodreads.com/sillyhappysweet if you want to connect on Goodreads!

Chocolate Lasagna

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Fri, 31 May 2013 01:32:00 +0000

Chocolate Lasagna from Olive Garden is sinful! Homemade chocolate lasagna is just as delicious. I kid you not. Be prepared to not want to step on the scale for a few days. I made this batch for some out-of-town friends we had over recently. It's a great summertime dessert--so cool and delicious.

CHOCOLATE LASAGNA

Package regular Oreo cookies

6 TBSP melted butter

1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 TBSP cold milk

12 ounce tub Cool Whip, divided

2 – 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding

3 1/4 cups cold milk

1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

First, food process or crunch Oreos in a baggie with a wood roller until they are finely crushed. Melt butter and combine butter with the crushed Oreos. Spread the mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13" dish.

Mix the cream cheese with a mixer fluffy. Add in 2 TBSP of milk, and sugar, and mix. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the crust.

In a separate bowl, combine instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk until the pudding starts to thicken. Use a spatula to spread the mixture over the previous cream cheese layer.

Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.

Peter Pan Collar Necklace--Back in Stock!

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:08:00 +0000

I have more Peter Pan collar necklaces in stock. They were recently featured in The Pleated Poppy's sponsor spotlight. Use the code MAY25OFF to get 25% off your total purchase (through May) at my shop.

Cute Crochet Coaster Pattern

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:51:00 +0000

Every single night (if we are home) I start up the burner on my stove and set my tea kettle with water upon it. Every night after about 5 minutes when the kettle whistles, every person in my household yells, "Mommy! Your tea!" As if I have no ability to hear. It happens Every. Single. Night. Without fail.

Are you a tea person? I gave up soda on New Year's Day and haven't looked back. I still miss it sometimes but I know I don't yet have the willpower to only have it "on occassion." So I love my chai tea. It's my ritual to drink my tea and take 10 minutes for myself either reading, playing a game of Suduko, or just watching a bit of a TV show.

My favorite coaster to use is my handmade crochet coaster. It's cute and girly. And it is easy to make. It literally takes about 10 minutes. I wanted to share the pattern with you. You can make a group of coasters for yourself or as a gift.

You can download the PDF of the pattern here.

SHS Book Club: Stephen King's 11/22/63

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:40:00 +0000

I've never read a Stephen King book before. Isn't that crazy? I know it. It's like telling people I don't know what Facebook is.

11/22/63 by Stephen King is an awesome book. I loved it! Be warned though, it is long. On my iPad Mini, it was 2000+ pages of reading. The typical book on my iPad is about 500 pages so it was long.

The date, 11/22/63, is the day that John F. Kennedy was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. The book centers around a character named Jake Epping, who is a time traveler that attempts to go back and prevent the assassination of JFK.

I won't give away anything so no spoilers here. The idea of time travel in itself is always intriguing and always brings up a million questions for me. I remember watching Back to the Future when Marty took the picture of his family from the present to the past and would look at the picture to see if his family members disappear to know whether he was doing the right things in the past so as not to change the future. Stephen King did a wonderful job of setting the scene for the late 50s and early 60s and made me nostalgic (I wasn't even born yet!) for those simpler times.

As most time travel books or movies go, I always have questions. I kept notes with questions as I read so that when Brian reads the book, I can ask him his thoughts about my questions. I think that King did an awesome job of not leaving any gaping holes in his time travel saga. For instance, the character Jake understood there would be huge repercussions to the future when he brought his cell phone back to the past. It's those little details throughout the book that King made sure to emphasize that bring to light just how profound "the butterfly effect" really is or could be.

Mixing the time travel idea with such a huge event in our nation's history made the book even more fun to read. As with other historical fiction that I've read lately, I found myself Googling the characters to see what they really looked like such as Marina Oswald (Lee's wife) and their daughter June. King did his homework. He really captured all of the details surrounding all the conspiracy theories as well as the details of Oswald leading up to the assassination. You definitely feel like you are right there in the middle of life-changing events.

The book doesn't only focus on Jake's quest to save the president. He arrives in the past in 1958 and has to wait five years for that key day. In those five years, he meets people, lives life, and even meets a woman. This then leads me to think about how in "real life," he isn't even born yet so in his real time, this woman is very old. Oh time travel. You do know how to mess with me!

I highly recommend this book. Apparently is not a typical Stephen King book so I'll have to go and read one his more typical books. If you have any interest in JFK's murder, if you find time travel mind-bending and fun, if you want a book that will keep you interested the entire way through, if you have a long vacation and want a great book, this is a good one! This book was on the best selling list for 17 weeks. It won Best Mystery/Thriller award from the L.A. Times in 2012.

If you have read this book, tell me what you thought about it!

After reading such a mind bender, I had to pick up a chick-lit book. I'm now reading How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal.

Teacher Appreciation Week Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Tue, 07 May 2013 01:27:00 +0000

We are in the midst of Teacher Appreciation Week. Our school goes all out during the week to show our teacher's appreciation. We are so grateful for our teachers!

If you are looking for some cute ideas, I stole a few and I'll share them with you.

Jen at Tatertots and Jello has a fabulous bookmark printable that we are definitely going to use.

Isn't this Letter Crayon Monogram an awesome idea? Thank you Cheap & Chic Nursery for the incredible DIY tutorial!

You can always buy a Burt's Bees lip balm set with a little note to your teacher saying, "Thanks for bee-ing such a wonderful teacher!"

Angie created some beautiful Mason Jar lables that are so fun. Isn't everything cuter in a Mason jar?

My kids definitely want us to use this donut printable created by Confetti Sunshine. I'll be getting up early tomorrow to go get some fresh donuts for our teachers.

WE LOVE TEACHERS!!!!!

Fast Recipe: Southwestern Won Tons

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:49:00 +0000

I love yummy, quick recipes. This is one my family raves about! I try to tell myself it has healthy contents but you do have to fry the won tons so that probably cancels any healthiness out. Try not to focus on that and concentrate on the yummy factor. It's off the charts.

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg. won tons

1 red bell pepper

1 can black beans, drained

1 pkg ranch dressing

1 chicken breast, cooked (I boiled mine then cut into cubes)

Shredded chedder cheese

Oil (for frying) Optional item--ranch dressing to dip won tons in

Prep work: Begin by chopping a red bell pepper, shredding cheese, draining can of beans, and chopping chicken. Set aside.

In a frying pan, add chopped bell pepper and cook on medium heat until tender. Add most of the can of beans, chicken, and a small handfull of cheese. Stir. Add half the package of ranch dressing. Stir.

Set the mixed items aside and start spreading out the won tons.

Fill half of each won ton with the chicken mixture.

Have a side glass of water ready. You will coat the sides of the opposite half of the won ton that doesn't have the mixture with some water.

You will then close the won ton by folding the angles over. The water will help you to seal them shut together.

You will then heat your oil and once it is pretty hot, you will submerge four won tons at a time in oil to fry. You won't keep the won tons in very long at all. Make sure you have some tongs and can turn them over quickly so as to cook both sides.

Once you have fried all of your won tons, serve them up with some ranch dressing. They're quite good alone. It's the only meal that my son eats the beans and doesn't complain. This recipe is really tasty. I think the powdered ranch dressing inside gives it a unique flavor. The melted cheese doesn't hurt either. I hope you like it as much as we do!

Sugar Cookies You'll Never Forget

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Thu, 02 May 2013 10:53:00 +0000

If you are like me and love a great sugar cookie recipe, I have a recipe for you to try! Well, it isn't my recipe but Mandi at Vintage Revivals introduced me to it.

This recipe is different because once you roll the balls, you don't put it in the oven and stop there.

Instead, you will use the stickiness from the dough to coat the bottom of a glass, stick the glass in sugar, then smoosh the ball down, thereby coating the dough with a yummy layer of sugar.

The sugar sticks to the cookie when cooked, making it not only yummy but pretty if you are one who doesn't add icing to your sugar cookies.

These cookies are awesome to freeze and don't change texture at all upon defrost. I personally don't have the willpower NOT to defrost them.

We made this batch for our neighbors who have used their snow removers to free our driveway more than once this year. We wanted to make them a happy, sunny color hoping that we are done with snow around here!

Go to Mandi's site to get the full recipe. You so will not regret it. This sugar cookie recipe is a keeper!

SHS Book Club: The Memory Keeper's Daughter

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:00:00 +0000

If you are looking for a book that is a major page turner, a book you can absorb in a day out of the sheer desire to know how it will end then The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards is a book you'd like.

Without giving too much away, the basic plot focuses on two families and the moment each of their lives changed forever. A decision that was made by one parent, changed the course of everyone else's lives and the book explains how a choice made in an instant can have everlasting effects--good and bad. And how the innocent are also greatly touched by choices that others have made.

Although the plot kept my interest, besides Phoebe, I didn't find any other character very likable. Their crazy and cold-hearted choices didn't make them appealing. I wanted to know the outcome of the story but I didn't find myself hoping for a certain ending for any of them. I do wish there were more characters I cared for but I still enjoyed the book. It's the kind of book you would want to read on a plane flight. It grabs your attention quickly.

I recently found out that this book was a made into a movie in 2008. It features Dermot Mulroney and Emily Watson. I haven't seen the movie yet but plan to some point soon. I never heard of the movie. If you've seen it, tell me what you thought of it.

My next book I'm reading is a little out there for me. I've never read Stephen King. Is that kind of incredible? I don't know why. It's a genre I do like. Then I go and choose a Stephen King book that is unlike any of his typical ones. I am reading 11/22/63. Have you read it? OMG. Can't wait to share! Are you on Goodreads.com? I'm sillyhappysweet on Goodreads. I'd love your recommendations!

Fun Birthday Tradition

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:08:00 +0000

Every year the thing my kids look forward to and talk about leading up to their birthday is how we will decorate their door. When they fall asleep, Brian and I pull out the ladder and decorate away. As they've gotten older, we've gotten more elaborate.

The next go around, I think I'll have to tape some balloons and sprinkle confetti outside their door.

It's a fun tradition and when they wake up, they are super excited to open their door. If you like to sleep in, it's a good way to say those special words without getting up at the same time they do. It will tide them over an extra hour or so, I promise.

Lego Birthday Party Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Are you planning a Lego themed birthday party and having a hard time finding ideas? I found all of my ideas on Pinterest rather than any of the party suppply stores, which are incredibly void of anything Lego-related. I was certain I'd walk in and find Lego balloons and a ton of Lego party supplies. Nope.

So, I want to add some of my best leads. As is the case with most things on Pinterest, you can really get into the party and go overboard. There are leads for Lego cakes, lego covers for juice boxes, lego party invites, lego gift bag ideas, lego games, lego decorations, and so much more. I am a working mom so I honestly can get overwhelmed when wanting to make it the best party possible, but also finding a balance given my budget and time. My son is turning 6 and I can bet that he will not remember each detail so I kept my party within theme but on a budget. But if you want to go all out, there is definitely an abundance of ideas. I will do my best to gather some great links for you.

The Invite

I got my invite idea from Lisa Leonard at this link. She's brilliant. I definitely copied her idea because it was cute and cheap. I have PhotoShop experience and an SLR camera. I'm certain you could get a cute picture with a regular camera. I am sure you could also use PicMonkey to get some text on your image. My problem with the invite was getting my son to be still. His arm would drop. It took a good number of tries to get him to cooperate. The key is to know it will take time and not get frustrated with your child. It might even be easier to just take a picture of the Lego man if you are wanting a picture with a subject that doesn't move. Once you've captured and edited your image, simply print at your local photo center. We sent 4 x 6" photos and purchased envelopes that fit perfectly from Walmart.

I love Heather @ CookieMondays invite:

Tiny Prints does a great job too if you are looking to just drop a cute picture of your child into a template. The below invite is absolutely cute!

Delia gives you permission to use her picture on her site to create the below invite.

If you aren't PhotoShop savvy and want a non-photographed invite, Amy offers an adorable Lego party printable kit, which includes invites and cake toppers and more for $23.95.

Decorations and Party Supplies

There are some fun printables out there if you want to go crazy decorating. I'll include links of ones I thought were cute and easy. We decided to invest in a box of generic brick legos at Toys R Us to decorate with. I considered this an "investment" because when the party is over, we'd still have the Legos to continue to build with. I loved our Lego banner. I got the idea from Emily at Abide with Me. I got a lot of ideas from Emily so check her link for sure.

There are no guidelines for making Lego letters. I simply stuck a great DVD in my player and messed around.

We also thought it would be fun to hang various-shaped Lego creations around the party area. I simply Googled "Lego animals" and also did some messing around. Emily (link above) gave me this idea as well.

We also made the below to hang on our front door to welcome guests.

The easiest (and most time consuming) Lego prop I made was the utensil holder. This thing took a lot of bricks! But it sure is a cute touch.

I used a mason jar filled with Lego bricks to weigh down the ballons.

You can create juice box covers with cardstock and circles as Over the Moon did.

When the kids go to wash their hands, you can have this cute soap on hand.

Here is a cute idea for a girl Lego party. I'm sure these are just empty boxes that are wrapped. I would love to credit this picture but couldn't find a link anywhere.

I went to the local Dollar Store and bought basic primary-colored plates, napkins and utensils but there are some cute ideas out there if you want to go all out on the supplies. Delia created her own Lego head plates. I also love her idea of name place settings. Cute!

The Cake

Ok, here is where I feel intimidated. Instead of going all out with a Lego cake, my son opted for donuts (below). Whew! You can add a Lego guy holding a candle in there to keep with the theme.

If you seriously want to go gangbusters with your Lego party, here are a few of the amazing cakes I've seen online.

Lego Party Games

Lego-related party game ideas are in abundance. Again, this is an area where the party stores don't have a lot so you will more than likely have to DIY it.

Aussie Pumpkin Patch offers an awesome free download PDF with so many great game ideas.

We used printables from her site to play a game of Hidden Lego Heads. We printed and cut out these Lego Heads and hid them around the house. At one point in the party we had kiddos search out for as many Lego heads that they could find. I'm sure some are still hiding and I'll find them in time.

I found out about the Creationary game on Amazon. It's like Pictionary but instead of drawing, you build Lego creations. This was a huge hit! This game will also help you come up with Lego creations to hang as decorations.

We thought it would be fun to make Lego sugar cookies using some cheap Lego cookie cutters I found online. The kids had fun icing a cookie and putting their own sprinkles on them (I forgot to get a picture of the finished products!)

Lego Bingo is a huge hit! Big D and Me created an awesome game that you can download here. She did an awesome job, kids love it!

The Photographer's Wife had fun playing Pin the Lego Head on the Lego Guy. I don't think I could ever make such a great Lego guy as they did. If you are artistically inclined though, this would be a fun one!

Another fun game (as Crunchy Catholic Momma recommends)is to let your party goers take a guess about how many Legos are in a jar. The closest to the actual number can win a fun prize.

Party Favors

This isn't a party favor but Delia had a great idea for a Lego crown. You can always send each kid home with a crown. All you need is cardstock.

Favors are always where I get stuck. Trying to find the right balance between remaining within budget but also finding things that kids actually would want to have is tough. For the record, we never had party favors when I was a kid. That would have probably made my mom crazy.

I found these cute Lego party bags on Amazon. They were cute and cheap--12 for $5.

The part of any Lego toy that my kids like best is the Lego person. Target and Toys R Us sells the Lego MiniFigures for $2.99 each. I would love to have given each kiddo a MiniFigure but there just weren't an abundance of them anywhere. The most I saw at one Target was 5 MiniFigures. I finally settled on going on Ebay and buying a full lot of 26 figures. They were gently used and we cleaned them in case there were any germs. I bought the full lot for $24, which in the end was cheaper than buying the bagged figures. Each kid received two figures.

Balloons are amazing because you can decorate with them then give each kid one on the way out. What kid doesn't love a helium balloon? Big hit and helps me that we don't have a bulk of helium balloons after the party. $1 per balloon at the Dollar Store!

We invited a few girls to the party. Though each girl was probably happy with a Lego figure, I'm sure they appreciated the Lego bling ring much more. Boys got some gummy bears from the party store since they didn't get a ring.

When purchasing the goody bags on Amazon, I also found these candies. They were $10 for a 2lb bag.

Delia did a great job of creating a downloadable for you to create these cute Lego Party Favor boxes that look like a Lego brick.

What kids don't like to discuss and laugh at poop? You can give them Lego Man Poop in their goody bag. I downloaded the Lego font and printed out the "Lego Man Poop" on colored cardstock. You can download here if you want to use my template to make your own "poop." I just put it in snack baggies with the cardstock.

I hope these links and ideas help you if you are planning a Lego themed birthday party!

SHS Book Club: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:30:00 +0000

I have been a reading fiend lately! Because the kids have had so many extracurricular activities, I find myself waiting a lot so I bring a book along.

My most recent finished book is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I haven't seen Perks of Being a Wallflower movie yet--it's on my list! If you have seen it and read the book, tell me if the movie is good or similar to the book.

I thought this was a really quick, easy read. I thought it was interesting that the main character's (Charlie) journal entries take place in 1991. I may or may not then be close to Charlie's age. Not telling.

Anyway, I like the main character and hearing his story through his journal entries was different but it worked for the book. Charlie experienced the death of his friend Michael shortly before entering his freshmen year. This isn't giving anything away but Charlie does reflect on Michael a bit. I remember being in high school when peers would die either of suicide or an accident of some sort. It really is devestating when a young person dies. That led me to think that this was the reason that Charlie is journaling and possibly why he's so shy and introspective.

Without giving it away, this is not the reason Charlie is so deep and has the emotions that he has. Charlie has some very real and painful reasons that he is who he his and you find them out through his entries eventually.

Charlie is a great kid. We all know a Charlie. He's that kid that is not noticed in high school but turns out to be quite a special person. My favorite part of the book is when he attends a Christmas party and his gifts to his friends reveal that Charlie is indeed a person who is sensitive and has a lot of depth. His friends realize it that night too.

Ah, oh my gosh, his teacher Bill. We could've all used a Bill growing up, couldn't we? I had one teacher like Bill who always encouraged my creative writing and gave me two poetry books that I still have to this day. That sounds strange as I write it but he honestly would pull me aside and tell me that he thought I had a special creative gift. I so appreciated him. But anyway, back to Bill. :) He sees that Charlie is a unique kid and encourages and guides Charlie through this awkward lifestage. I love when Bill tells Charlie "we accept the love we think we deserve." That is so profound, especially as a teenager who struggles socially. Love it!

I hope you will read this book and like Charlie as much as I do. I can't wait to see the movie. I love Emma Watson. Then entire time I read the book, I pictured her as Sam. I bet she makes a great Sam.

The book I'm reading now is called The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. I just found out this one was a movie too in 2008. I had no idea. The movie starred Emily Thompson and Dermot Mulroney (of My Best Friend's Wedding fame--love him!). I can't wait to share about this one!

Giveaway @ Meghan's site

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:29:00 +0000

Meghan is nice enough to host a giveaway of one of my 3-Rosie statement necklaces. Head on over to her site and enter to win!

Peter Pan Collar Necklace Available in My Shop! Limited Supply Left!

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:49:00 +0000

Do you keep seeing Peter Pan collars everywhere too? My favorite Project Runway designer of all time is Kenley Collins--queen of the Peter Pan collars. Love her!

Most recently I've seen Peter Pan collar necklaces for sale at Forever 21. I own one myself and love it. Check out my Pinterest page devoted to Peter Pan collars. Here are a few of my faves:

Ideeli

Shop For Fun

So in my shop, I'm now selling Peter Pan Collar Lace Necklaces. They are cute when you want to look like you're wearing a collar but don't want to add all the bulk underneath, namely with a sweater. Or dress up a simple black dress with a collar like Kate Middleton did.

How cute is she in this coat with the Peter Pan collar?

And on the runway. Peter Pan collars are listed as a top runway trend for 2013:

How about Heidi Klum and Taylor Swift with their skin Peter Pan collars?

My necklaces are made of an embroidered lace (not itchy!) and have a antique bronze chain.

They look great on a t-shirt under a cardigan:

They are great under a coat:

I love them with a sweater!

Or if you want a more formal look with a light sweater:

So, get one quick because supplies are limited! Do you like the Peter Pan collar craze too?

UPDATE: I SOLD OUT OF NECKLACES BUT WILL BE GETTING MORE IN THE STORE SOON. THANKS FOR BEING AS EXCITED AS I AM ABOUT MY PETER PAN COLLAR NECKLACES!

SHS Book Club: The Aviator's Wife

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:25:00 +0000

I finished The Aviator's Wife! I absolutely loved, loved, loved this book. I've never read historical fiction before but I'm definitely going to try more of it.

This is the story of Anne Morrow Lindberg and her life and adventures and heartaches. Based on her diary and journal entries along with historical facts, this book creates a great picture of her life.

I found myself Googling all of the various facts as I'd read about them. I wanted to see pictures of Anne and her sister. I would Google images of Anne's baby, Charlie. I was Wikipediaing about Elizabeth, Anne's sister.

That is the beauty of historical fiction, the historical parts are mostly facts built around fiction. So you become interested in the history just by delving into the fiction.

But back to the book itself. I think Anne's life seemed so enviable on the outside but it seems there was so much sadness on the inside. The book takes us through her young adulthood all the way into her late life. You get a true sense of her lonliness and her loss of self at times while she aims to make everyone else in her life happy and content. If you don't know about Anne Morrow Lindberg, she is the mother of baby Charles Lindberg, the child who was kidnapped from his nursery. Anne's husband, Charles Lindberg, was the famous aviator who was the first to fly non-stop to Paris from New York on a single-engine plane. Anne, a pilot in her own right, spent a great deal of her life in her husband's shadow though she was more educated and was the first female to earn a glider pilot's license.

The book goes into great detail about her relationship with Charles. Having read Anne's book before I ever read this book, I found her more intriguing than before. I can't wait to go back and read my copy of Gift from the Sea. I bet her writing will take on a whole new meaning now that I know more about her life.

This book is a must-read. I don't say that often. I loved it. If you have some other historical fiction books to recommend, please let me know! I'll put it on my Goodreads list.

Can't wait to share my next book. Right now I'm reading.....

Recipe: Simple Bruschetta

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:44:00 +0000

I love me some bruschetta! I've had complex bruschetta with many ingredients including olive tampenade. And I've had very simple ones with few ingredients like this one. I like simple best. My good friend gave me this recipe and it is such a hit with MiniMe. She cheers when I tell her we're having it. Sometimes, on a meatless Monday or in place of dinner, we'll just have bruschetta. Recipe available for download here. And if your husband is like mine and "thinks" goat cheese isn't good, then don't tell him you're using it, he will never know. Trust me on this.

Here are the ingredients (minus the olive oil and baguette bread--sorry I forgot it in the pic!).

Start by cutting your baguette bread in slices, then dip each slide flatly in some olive oil that you poured in a plate. Then sprikle the bread with garlic salt and place on a cookie sheet to toast. Set you oven on the lowest broiler setting.

Your toasted bread should look something like this:

Then, you want to spread some goat cheese and place a few diced tomatoes on your bread and put back in oven. This step is mainly to heat up the cheese and tomoatoes so you don't need to keep them in very long at all. Make sure that you watch the bread closely. Your bruschetta can go from perfect to burnt very quickly.

Top with basil and serve. Feel free to sprinkle with more garlic salt. I think that is what makes it especially yummy.

InstaFriday

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:48:00 +0000

It's Friday and time to link up with Jeannett for InstaFriday, sharing cell phone photos from the week.

The annual Easter Egg Hunt was awesome this year! There were 6000 eggs and 250 of them had $1 coins in them. Each kid found at least one with money. We also found a real egg! The geese that were nesting didn't appreciate a kid picking up the egg and moving it. We put the egg back and thankfully, the goose went back to sitting on it. I can't blame the kiddo for picking it up, it was an egg afterall.

MiniB despises haircuts. I always dread taking him. For some odd reason he thinks the haircutter is going to give him a mohawk. Every single time he asks her to not give him one and every single time she reassures him that she won't. Every. Single. Time.

Brian makes fun of my doily making. I actually think the colored cotton yarn makes them a lot more modern. I just wanted a new challenge. It's pretty fun to make a doily. I get it all you grannies!

Apparently it is time to buy some new pants. MiniB looks like he's waiting for a flood.

Soccer season has started up here! Both kids are on teams though I only made it to MiniB's practic. Brian is coaching MiniMe's team.

I hope you have had a nice week!

My Favorite Things: Ewe Stash (a knitting app)

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:44:00 +0000

I love app recommendations, especially if they are fun for my kids or helpful for me. One of my favorite apps is a knitting app called Ewe Stash. It is basically a database app where you can store inventory information about your yarn stash, knitting needles, and crochet hooks.

If you are a knitter then you know how easy it is to "stumble" across a knitting shop and want to start a new project but can't recall if you have the right amount of yarn to complete that cute cardigan. Or whether you have the right size of needle at home. I know there have been countless times that I know I have the specific size of needle at home but am unsure about the length, which really matters when you are working with cable needles. I have opted to not purchase a new set of needles thinking I have it on hand only to find out I'm wrong. Bummer.

With Ewe Stash, you simply enter all of your inventory and can easily look it up. Here's a picture of all of my needles:

With Ewe Stash, you don't have to be near your needles (or hooks if you crochet) to know what you have. No more digging through them all to know if you have what you need! Simply open the app and you can search by brand name (Addi, Susan Bates, etc.), type (DPNs, straight, cable, etc.) or size. YOu can also store information about all your yarn stash. My stash isn't that big so I don't store that. Plus, any excuse to purchase more yarn is to not know what you have on hand. That's not as fun when you purchase a needle you already have.

For the record, one of my other favorite things is this Rowan knitting bag. I store my needles in here. When we go on a staycation close to home, I store my latest project in the bag in case I have time to work on it.

So, I've had a lot of questions about knitting. Are you a knitter? Do you find it intimidating? Do you want to learn?

Recipe: Best Broccoli Cheddar Soup--Hands Down

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:08:00 +0000

Downtime. We needed it. We miss it. A snowstorm last month gave us the opportunity to have some. We stayed in our pj's all day. I made some homemade bread and soup. Do you love Broccoli Cheddar soup like it do? Mmmmmm... Panera Bread has the best version ever. I'd compare my soup recipe to theirs. If you love BC Soup, you have to try this recipe! Download the PDF here.

You start by steaming broccoli.

Then you bring the butter ingredients to a boil.

Once the broccoli is steamed, you add the broccoli to the boiling butter mixture after adding some chicken broth and milk (it's all in the recipe).

You have to add the cheeses so they melt in the mixture. Once they've sufficiently melted, add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Yummy! It is even tastier with some homemade, warm bread to dip in. Best veg out day ever.

Organizing Your File Folders/Mail: Spring Cleaning Week

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Today concludes my spring cleaning series. I want to tell you about organizing file folders and mail/kids' school paperwork. These are areas that I definitely needed to get organized!

Let's start with file folders. I know it is important to keep records, and as I age, I realize more and more how we have to go back to reference old records--mostly W2s and tax information, 401K history, refinance paperwork, and mortgage and bank statements. I file more than just those items though--utility bills, cell phone statements, pay stubs, College Invest statements, credit card bills, and more. I'm up in the air as to whether I need to file these but while I'm filing the important paperwork, I figured I might as well keep these papers too "just in case."

Are you like me in that you despise filing? It doesn't take long if I keep up with it monthly but I usually only do it quarterly. This is because our filing drawers are in our basement. I usually pay a bill, save the paperwork and stack it at the top of my stairs to take in a huge pile to the file folder area. Our file folders were finally busting open from 3 years of filing. I invested in a file box at Staples ($10 for 4 boxes) and dumped our old folders into it like so. I know this isn't breaking news, most people eventually do this but I finally got around to doing it!

I then used my handy label maker (I've used this tool now for three spring cleaning projects this week!) to create new file folder labels. I then filed all our paperwork going back to January 2013 in new file folders. Ahhhh....everything looks so much cleaner and I don't mind filing though I'm sure I'll still only do it quarterly. The box with the old folders goes into our storage area and I don't have to look at those records again unless I absolutely have to.

Now, onto kids' school paperwork....My old solution for handling paperwork that comes from the school that I have to sign or deal with was to place it on a large plate in our kitchen. That solution was working fine but when I was at Staples looking for file boxes, I discovered the Martha Stewart area!

I started looking through her collection and realized I could solve some of our school paperwork and homework dilemmas with one solution. My kids have homework every day. They sit at our breakfast bar and start their homework while I make dinner. MiniB is in kindergarten and usually needs glue, tape, crayons, or scissors to complete his homework. He'll usually go get these items and then we'll put them away once he's done. Not anymore. We bought this beauty:

With this handy set up, I can store homework stuff (pencils, scissors, erasures, glue, tape, calculator, note pad). I also sometimes have to write notes to their teachers so it's easy to have lined sticky notes. They also come in handy to leave my family notes if needed. This is a good area to leave the kids some emergency numbers if they ever need them. I love this Martha Stewart storage station! We are no longer dragging stuff out of their rooms or my desk only to have to put them back and drag them out the next day again.

Ok, so now onto mail organization. I have always used the below to store my upcoming bills. It is simple and works great. No issues there.

Where I struggle is where to put coupons and magazines (because it often takes me a month or so to get to a magazine). We get monthly coupons for various restaurants, Jo-Anns, Bed Bath & Beyond, Clarks, the oil-changing place, the grocery store, and so much more. I've always just shoved them into a desk drawer. The problem with that is my desk is nowhere near our garage or front door. Often when I'm going on an errand, I forget about the coupons I have and if I do, I have to sort through a bunch of outdated ones to find the one I'm looking for. I found this shelf ledge turned upside down is a good solution. I can now see my coupons and magazines and keep them updated. I know what I have and it is in a place that I can look quickly before I get into the car to go. And I can grab a magazine if I know I'm going to be sitting around waiting for one of my kids at piano or soccer. Easy peasy!

Thanks for visiting me this week as I've spring cleaned. I'm tired. Time to go enjoy ourselves for spring break!

Organizing Board Games: Spring Cleaning Week

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:54:00 +0000

Spring cleaning week continues here. Today's topic is organizing board games. Every month we have Family Game Night in our living room. We store our games in a cabinet in our living room. Here is a before picture:

It isn't that bad but there are times where the kids want to take games to their rooms or to play in the basement with friends. Rather than worry that they don't lose pieces along the way, I wanted to put their games in a bin so they can carry it all together and try to keep pieces from getting lost. The adult games have dice, note pads, pencils, dictionary, and poker chips that I wanted to keep together. So I separated the games in different bins. This cabinet is also where I store my candles.

The kids games are now all housed together. This is also handy for trips to grandparent's house to be able to just load the bin in the car rather than a game that can potentially lose parts in the car.

The adult games are also housed together. This is also a good solution for keeping little hands from using the entire Pictionary pad to draw happy faces or taking the dice and not returning them. Or taking the clay from the Cranium game for their own purposes. I guess technically they can still do all those things but you make it a little harder by separating the games.

Do you have a system for storing your games? The next eyesore is our video game storage area but that will have to come in the future. Tomorrow's topic is tackling your filing cabinet organization.

Lego Storage Part II: Organize Your Lego Manuals: Spring Cleaning Week

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:04:00 +0000

In yesterday's post, I discussed organizing my son's Legos for my spring cleaning series. Today I want to show you how I organize my son's Lego manuals so that we can rebuilt any of his various kits anytime by following the original directions.

First, I purchased a colored binder and clear binder pocket pages. Then I simply put each binder into a pocket. It was easy and allows him to look through each page very clearly. And because they're stored in the pocket, he will hopefully not ruin the pages since they will just go right back in the binder once he's used them.

I created the logo for the front of the binder and simply printed it and inserted it into the clear flap. You can download a PDF of the page I created PDF here if you want to create your own binder to store manuals.

Lego Storage and Organization: Spring Cleaning Week

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:03:00 +0000

I am continuing my Spring Cleaning series week by tackling Lego storage. If your kiddos love Legos, you know my pain (literally--have you ever stepped on one of them?). It got out of control quickly after a Lego-themed birthday party. We had everything in a few plastic bins but I realized it wasn't conducive to building, and, if I felt overwhelmed when opening the bin, surely my 5-year old did too.

So, to Pinterest I went! I found many options that moms use to organize Legos. There is grouping legos by color, which seemed to be the most popular option. Though that is an awesome way to quickly put Legos away in a pinch, I thought it was just a more organized version of the solution I already had in place and didn't make building any easier.

I sat down with a pile of manuals from all the various Lego kits MiniB had received. Most had been put together and torn down into fragments. I tried to put the below one together and found it impossible in the current state of our Lego organization.

So, I came to the conclusion that the best option is to group Legos by their shape and function. That is, all squares together, all flat pieces together, all Lego people bodies together, etc. Luckily, Target had the following on sale!

I then dumped everything out on MiniB's floor to begin sorting. Yikes!

It took me a good two hours to sort everything into piles.

Now to sort them into their storage cases. First, all the Lego bodies, heads, hats and weapons. I used my label maker (one of my favorite things, read here).

There were plenty of flat pieces to store too.

Then, I took this large Lego Storage Head that we got for Christmas and put all of the "regular" lego pieces--squares, medium bricks, and large bricks.

Then, I put all the "irregular" pieces into the Lego storage drawers I got at Target. We put my son's initials on the outside of one of the drawers for fun.

They came with handy plastic separators. I considered irregular pieces those that are unusual shaped, tires, props or tools, doors, windows, and anything unique.

I didn't want to tear down the partial projects so I reserved an entire drawer for projects that were partially put together.

Here is our completed storage set up! MiniB is so excited and we sat down and attempted build one of the projects from the manual from scratch. It was so easy and fun! Which leads me to tomorrow's topic, storing and organizing all of the Lego manuals so you can rebuild projects again and again.

Tackling the Linen Closet-Spring Cleaning Week Begins!

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:29:00 +0000

As promised, I'm going to share my spring cleaning problem spots here at Chez Silly Happy Sweet.

Last week I shared with you the before photo of our hallway linen closet. We don't really store towels in this closet, mainly sheets, comforters, humidifier, heating pad, and some of my knitting (yarn) stash. Here again is the before:

Are you like me in that when it comes to folding fitted sheets you just roll them up in a semi-folded shape and call it a day? I know there is a better way but I have never had the desire to learn. To spiffy up this closet I decided I would watch Martha Stewart's video on how to fold fitted sheets. Here's a before of our sheets:

And our sheets after I watched the video and fixed them. Better, yes?

I fixed up the knitting area too by buying some baskets for my stash. I store some knitting in this closet because I have several projects going at a time and I like to have it close when I watch tv or want to work on it. I have an entire armoire in our basement guest room where I store all of the rest of my yarn. That's normal, right?

Sock yarn (so yummy):

I moved the heavy comforters to our basement guest room closet where there are larger shelves for storage. This looks much better, do you agree?

Do you feel better when you clean up the nooks and crannies of your home? I'm not sure I'll keep folding the fitted sheets perfectly but I will try for awhile. Tomorrow I tackle Part 1 of the dredful lego storage problem we have around here.

Gearing up for Spring Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (Carolyn) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

I can't wait for Spring to hurry on up over here! Every spring I attempt some sort of Spring Cleaning. Last year I tackled my closet and our garage. You all have those pesky junk drawers and areas and/or closets in your home that you shudder in horror when you open them, right? Please tell me I'm not the only one. Just the other day I opened this closet and the blankets on the top fell on my head. It's always a race to shove stuff in there before the dreaded comforter topples on me. Usually I win but not the other day. I'm so over this closet.

While I'm at it, I think I'll tackle this Lego problem around here. Now I know you all are as sick as I am of stepping on pointy Legos with your bare feet! I have had enough of shrieking out in pain. Must. Organize. Legos. I've got some ideas I can't wait to share.

And let's discuss this mail pile.

If you are like me, you are a pile maker. I get to my piles....eventually. I also make piles for my husband to get to and when he doesn't, I "solve" the problem by shoving the mail in his top nightstand drawer. Like this....

Out of sight, out of mind. Only problem is then it is out of his mind too. And the next time I shove mail in there, it looks like this and then I still end up having to ultimately deal with it. No more baby. I have some ideas for this problem too.

How about this game cabinet? No ideas here yet but that is what Pinterest is for, right? I'll get back to you on this one.

Join me next week as each day I tackle these problems! Just writing it makes me feel better because now I'm committed to actually doing it! Yay!

What kind of Spring Cleaning do you do?