Most everyone knows I am pretty crunchy. So the big question here
lately for me is how does a crunchy mom like me begin preparing for
another child. I am starting easy. I began taking prenatal vitamins last
week and I am beginning to track my cycle. I asked Sarah who is a
bigger blog reader than I am for some good blogs to read that are
written by mom's like me. She gave me some great suggestions, I am still
going through them but once I see I will share with you guys. If anyone has suggestions on how I should prepare I am all ears! We have been out of the baby game for a long time.Fun
changes are coming for the Thrift clan! Also Fall has finally come to South Georgia!!! Yay, we are making
a fire in the fireplace almost everyday so that we don't have to turn
on the heater. Its so pretty!
I have decided that
every post I make until Christmas I am going to add a really neat cookie
recipe or gift idea. The first cookie recipe is going to be for Peppermint Crunch Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies. I found this recipe on Pinterest. The blog there were found on is http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2010/11/28/peppermint-mikl-chocolate-cookies/
Peppermint Crunch-Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
7 ounces milk chocolate chips
7 ounces Peppermint Crunch Chips
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl by
hand), beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and
vanilla on medium speed just until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated, then stir
in the flour mixture followed by the chocolate and peppermint chips.
On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into quarters. Shape
each quarter into a log about 9 inches long. Wrap the logs in plastic
wrap and refrigerate until firm, preferably for 24 hours (do this part
for real please).
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the
oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone
baking mats.
Slice the logs into disks ¾ inch thick and place the disks 3 inches
apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the chips crumble out (and they
will), simply push them back in, they reshape nicely.
Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until the
cookies are very lightly browned in the centers, about 10 minutes. If
you like soft chocolate chip cookies, as I do, err on the side of
underbaking.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
And the Holiday Craziness Has Begun!
The day after Halloween begins the countdown to the holidays. Sarah mentioned in her last post that she is trying to figure out low cost presents for her family and friends. I am in the same boat myself. My daughter on the other hand made her Dear Santa list yesterday. She wants dolls, dolls, and some more dolls from Santa, from us she wants to redo her bedroom and make it big girl! So today I wanted to compile some ideas and blogs that have some great ideas for some homemade gifts! I hope you guys can get some use out of these! See you Sunday!
This blog is great there are tons of categories for everyone on your Christmas list!
http://www.skiptomylou.org/handmade-gift-ideas/
Who doesn't love gifts in jars! This blog has tons!
http://tipjunkie.com/jar-homemade-gifts/
Homemade soap is awesome! This blog has 14 really neat recipes!
http://bohemianrevolution.com/homemade-soap-recipes/
Here are some other ideas.
1. Cookie Tins, fill up pretty tins with fun homemade cookies!
2. Hand or Foot scrub, its awesome to have around.
3. Themed baskets, if you have someone on your list who is an avid something, or really likes something, build a basket around that. Keep your eyes open at the dollar store or in the dollar sections of Target or Michaels!
4. Chocolate! Homemade truffles or fudge are amazing gifts and can be easily made for any taste!
5. Re useable coffee cups or drink cups, filled with instant coffee or tea, or cold drink mixes!
6. Ceramic tile coasters! I love these and plan to make them myself! Here is a great tutorial. http://twogirlsbeingcrafty.blogspot.com/2011/02/ramseys-finally-have-coasters.html
7. Homemade Vanilla! I know Sarah has posted about making some herself!
8. Alcohol! Yeah, its an easy one, but overlooked. A nice bottle of wine or a good bourbon can be pretty inexpensive and the thought goes a long way!
9. Handmade ornaments! A few years ago my Momma and I made some by taking clear glass ornaments and filled them with pretty ribbon then we added a ribbon tie for hanging!
10. Board games. Around this time of year stores price board games super low, some around 5 dollars. This is a great idea for kids and adults!
11. Recipe Box, filled with awesome recipes you have collected and don't mind sharing, great gift for newlyweds!
12. Firewood. I know it may sound weird, but just hear me out. I live in a rural community a lot of people that I know have fireplaces in their homes, and use them. Firewood to buy costs a lot. So if you have some extra tie some up and give it as a gift!
13.Compound Butter, I saw this on The Chew and it seems like a really cool gift to give! Here is the link to the recipe. http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Carla-Hall-Compound-Butter
14. An oldie but goody is the coupon book, Fill it with things you know your loved ones would like you to do, but you usually don't do... Like, cooking their favorite meal or dessert.
15. Don't forget the pets!!! A bag or treats for pets are pretty inexpensive! And guaranteed you will get brownie points for remembering your friends and families furry kids!
This blog is great there are tons of categories for everyone on your Christmas list!
http://www.skiptomylou.org/handmade-gift-ideas/
Who doesn't love gifts in jars! This blog has tons!
http://tipjunkie.com/jar-homemade-gifts/
Homemade soap is awesome! This blog has 14 really neat recipes!
http://bohemianrevolution.com/homemade-soap-recipes/
Here are some other ideas.
1. Cookie Tins, fill up pretty tins with fun homemade cookies!
2. Hand or Foot scrub, its awesome to have around.
3. Themed baskets, if you have someone on your list who is an avid something, or really likes something, build a basket around that. Keep your eyes open at the dollar store or in the dollar sections of Target or Michaels!
4. Chocolate! Homemade truffles or fudge are amazing gifts and can be easily made for any taste!
5. Re useable coffee cups or drink cups, filled with instant coffee or tea, or cold drink mixes!
6. Ceramic tile coasters! I love these and plan to make them myself! Here is a great tutorial. http://twogirlsbeingcrafty.blogspot.com/2011/02/ramseys-finally-have-coasters.html
7. Homemade Vanilla! I know Sarah has posted about making some herself!
8. Alcohol! Yeah, its an easy one, but overlooked. A nice bottle of wine or a good bourbon can be pretty inexpensive and the thought goes a long way!
9. Handmade ornaments! A few years ago my Momma and I made some by taking clear glass ornaments and filled them with pretty ribbon then we added a ribbon tie for hanging!
10. Board games. Around this time of year stores price board games super low, some around 5 dollars. This is a great idea for kids and adults!
11. Recipe Box, filled with awesome recipes you have collected and don't mind sharing, great gift for newlyweds!
12. Firewood. I know it may sound weird, but just hear me out. I live in a rural community a lot of people that I know have fireplaces in their homes, and use them. Firewood to buy costs a lot. So if you have some extra tie some up and give it as a gift!
13.Compound Butter, I saw this on The Chew and it seems like a really cool gift to give! Here is the link to the recipe. http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Carla-Hall-Compound-Butter
14. An oldie but goody is the coupon book, Fill it with things you know your loved ones would like you to do, but you usually don't do... Like, cooking their favorite meal or dessert.
15. Don't forget the pets!!! A bag or treats for pets are pretty inexpensive! And guaranteed you will get brownie points for remembering your friends and families furry kids!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Bun Fun
So, besides Halloween being awesome, not much happening around here!
Did some cooking last night. Made almond fried chicken and mashed cauliflower (which I'm really excited to have for dinner tonight!)
I've been trying to plot out Christmas presents for friends and close family, without breaking the bank, or buying a bunch of junk, which is surprisingly hard to do! Unfortunately, I can't be specific about it since they all read my blog ;-)
And finally, back to the topic of the title: my ridiculous rabbit. Boo Boo is an indoor bunny, but he's definitely a house bunny (or more specifically, a room bunny.) He stays in his cage while I'm not home, but whenever I'm in my room I let him roam freely. One interesting thing about rabbits is that they're actually very potty trainable, which shocked me. Boo loves the cats' litter box, making a beeline for it whenever I let him out, and I don't discourage him at all! He has one in his cage too, but he seems to like the cats' better. Just for your amusement, here's a video of him going CRAZY digging (to where?)
I also have the sparkliest nails ever. Pretty much in love with them.
Hope you all have a good start to your November!
~Sarah
Did some cooking last night. Made almond fried chicken and mashed cauliflower (which I'm really excited to have for dinner tonight!)
I've been trying to plot out Christmas presents for friends and close family, without breaking the bank, or buying a bunch of junk, which is surprisingly hard to do! Unfortunately, I can't be specific about it since they all read my blog ;-)
And finally, back to the topic of the title: my ridiculous rabbit. Boo Boo is an indoor bunny, but he's definitely a house bunny (or more specifically, a room bunny.) He stays in his cage while I'm not home, but whenever I'm in my room I let him roam freely. One interesting thing about rabbits is that they're actually very potty trainable, which shocked me. Boo loves the cats' litter box, making a beeline for it whenever I let him out, and I don't discourage him at all! He has one in his cage too, but he seems to like the cats' better. Just for your amusement, here's a video of him going CRAZY digging (to where?)
I also have the sparkliest nails ever. Pretty much in love with them.
Hope you all have a good start to your November!
~Sarah
Saturday, October 29, 2011
What's this? ITS HALLOWEEN! (Almost)
If you all hadn't read before, let me take a moment to say I work for a university (in the library.) If there's one thing that universities (and university towns) take seriously, it's Halloween. And that fits me just fine. Halloween/ Day of the Dead are absolutely my favorite holidays, hands down. This year, because of moving, I have seriously slacked on the fall decorating. Most of my decorations went to my office, to be oo'ed and awe'd over by the students (everyone loves my huge glitter skulls. Who wouldn't!?) However, moving did not cure my costume fever, past or present.
The other night, some of the girls and I had a "drag out all of Sarah's costume crap and play dress-up" night. What fun! Two big rubbermaid tubs and a basket of stuff, and that still wasn't all of it! We took some silly videos, but here were a few of the highlights:
The Jane Austen dresses never fail to please. They are also pretty much the most comfortable things ever.
Hilarity ensued when we found my "historically accurate socks" and single mock-up of a shoe, made out of none other than a vinyl tablecloth. I kid you not. We rolled.
Here is my niece in her costume, which is only a little bit long in the shoulders! Her cape magically matches, even though neither her mom or I had seen what the other was doing! Brilliant!
And now the big reveal! Since I work in the library, I needed a work-appropriate costume. First I had planned on being Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus, but I couldn't find the right dress. Instead, I decided on Mary Poppins (I am practically perfect in EVERY way, after all!) I already had a skirt that would work, but needed a frilly white shirt, squashy hat, some old-lady heel, and a carpet bag. My friend and I went on the thrifting trip of a lifetime and scored big! She found everything she needed for her Carmen San Diego costume, and I found everything I needed, all in 2 stops! It was magical. The stars aligned.
Unfortunately, I didn't get pics of the whole thing finished, but here's a taste!
The skirt, I already owned. The frilly shirt, shoes, and hat were Goodwill finds, and the jacket and bag were Salvation Army finds. I added trim to the jacket this week. The bowtie is just some ribbon hot glued to a safety pin.
The hat what just a straw hat, spray painted black. I gussied it up with some berries and cheap flowers.
This is also the first Halloween costume that I've finished a WEEK before!
So what did all this cost me?
In other news, I made a fabulous cauliflower crust pizza. Nom nom nom.
The other night, some of the girls and I had a "drag out all of Sarah's costume crap and play dress-up" night. What fun! Two big rubbermaid tubs and a basket of stuff, and that still wasn't all of it! We took some silly videos, but here were a few of the highlights:
The Jane Austen dresses never fail to please. They are also pretty much the most comfortable things ever.
Hilarity ensued when we found my "historically accurate socks" and single mock-up of a shoe, made out of none other than a vinyl tablecloth. I kid you not. We rolled.
Here is my niece in her costume, which is only a little bit long in the shoulders! Her cape magically matches, even though neither her mom or I had seen what the other was doing! Brilliant!
And now the big reveal! Since I work in the library, I needed a work-appropriate costume. First I had planned on being Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus, but I couldn't find the right dress. Instead, I decided on Mary Poppins (I am practically perfect in EVERY way, after all!) I already had a skirt that would work, but needed a frilly white shirt, squashy hat, some old-lady heel, and a carpet bag. My friend and I went on the thrifting trip of a lifetime and scored big! She found everything she needed for her Carmen San Diego costume, and I found everything I needed, all in 2 stops! It was magical. The stars aligned.
Unfortunately, I didn't get pics of the whole thing finished, but here's a taste!
The skirt, I already owned. The frilly shirt, shoes, and hat were Goodwill finds, and the jacket and bag were Salvation Army finds. I added trim to the jacket this week. The bowtie is just some ribbon hot glued to a safety pin.
The hat what just a straw hat, spray painted black. I gussied it up with some berries and cheap flowers.
This is also the first Halloween costume that I've finished a WEEK before!
So what did all this cost me?
- Skirt: Free
- Shirt: $2.50
- Jacket: $2
- Trim: $1
- Bag: $1.99
- Shoes: $3
- Hat: $1.50
- Fake flowers: $2
- Bowtie: Free
- Tights (which I will wear): Free
That makes me one
happy Mary Poppins :-)
In other news, I made a fabulous cauliflower crust pizza. Nom nom nom.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
So much going on!!!! And Daisy Salve!!!
Hey there readers, happy hump day! This week has been a bit of a blur and will continue to be just that. On Monday my sister had my nephews Conner and Chase. They were born at 26 weeks, and are in the NICU in Jacksonville, they are doing well as of now but they have a long road ahead. If any of you readers are praying people please pray for them. My sister has started a blog to post how they are doing http://bourquetwins.blogspot.com/ Also today I went and got my last 6 months of Birth Control... Yes readers Husband and I are going to be having another child. This time we are planning for it though. So sometime next year you will get to hear about hippie pregnancy, lol. And finally today I made daisy salve! Here is the blog I got the recipe from again if you are interested in doing it yourself! http://www.crunchybetty.com/vintage-remedies-%E2%80%93-make-daisy-salve-for-bumps-bruises
Here are some pictures of both the daisy salve making process and my nephews. Seeya Sunday!
Here are some pictures of both the daisy salve making process and my nephews. Seeya Sunday!
Monday, October 24, 2011
There's No Place Like Home
Randomly, I woke up this morning at 8 am. Sounds like a normal day, right? Sure, except I go to bed at 3am. Say whaaaaaaaat? I am a night owl. I don't wake up early. But when I woke up this morning, before the sun was even fully out, all I could think about was buying a Dremel and cleaning my room. No joke. I sat there in bed for at least a half an hour debating the merits of buying a Dremel, or buying groceries. The Dremel won, for the record, but luckily I have a friend who has one and might let me borrow hers to decide if I want one! Anyway. After I was totally amped up, I decided to just give up and fiddle around the house until I was tired enough to nap. I never napped. I had such a great day of cleaning and getting projects done that I didn't have time! I didn't even have time to make dinner!
First things first, I decided to make breakfast:
These are really delicious. They look nothing like the recipe picture (which are neat little pucks of breakfast goodness with clearly defined strata), but they definitely fill you up. The only thing I would do differently than the recipe is to cook the biscuits for a few minutes before adding the egg. They rose so much they went right through the egg and there's nothing on the bottom (although they are still tasty!)
I also made these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies. They are divine. I'm making a huge batch to bring to work on Halloween for all my poor little dears stuck at work and not out... I dunno.... trick or treating. Or whatever it is that kids do these days. It says to put them in an 11X7, but for a single batch I think I would just do a 9X9 and see if they came out a bit thicker. No pictures because I literally made these instead of getting ready for work, and ran out the door with steaming hot brownies in my paws.
I did a bunch of other stuff, but the bulk of my day was spent trying to to get my room in some semblance of order. I stayed up til 3 last night because I spent an hour and a half folding and putting away clothes, I kid you not. With everything put away (other than a small pile of hanging stuff that is hiding in my closet...), I had a LOT more room to work with and could start really putting things away.
Downsizing from having my stuff spread over pretty much an entire acre to a townhouse is a bit shocking. I've always known I have a lot of stuff, but it's amazing to see it all shoved in a small area. It's also amazing to see how little of it I actually use! I'm trying to be judicious as I unpack and put things away (the Roomie witnessed me recycling an iced tea bottle instead of saving it. I swear!) but also not get rid of things and then have to re-buy them (or worse, regret getting rid of them and NOT being able to replace them.)
So here's a quick run-through of what I've been up to! I also have no shame in showing the piles of stuff still left to do. You'll be able to appreciate my progress as we go :-)
Dresser wall got the most attention of the day.The dresser got cleared of junk (a lot of it was re-located when I freed up space elsewhere.) Then there is the addition of my street-side rescue shelf (holla to Savannah for stopping in the middle of the parking lot for me. You are a true friend to indulge my furniture-rescuing compulsion.) I just used 2 sets of L-brackets to attach it to a stud, easy peasy. The shelf itself is pretty rough, and obviously homemade, but it was free, and it holds stuff, so it works for me!
Here's a close-up of what's on the shelf right now. A lot of random stuff that I'm sure will be moved around. Right now it's my half-dead orchids, my jewelry tray, library books, kids toys, glitter glue, and glue sticks in a tin. The hatbox and winebox are both empty. I'm sure I'll remedy that.
This cute little silver tray works perfectly for catching all kinds of jewelry as I take it off, without risking the cats knocking it around. Salvation Army find!
Moving clockwise is the bunny hutch! I gave up on trying to teach Boo to go up to the second level, so I just took out the ramp and now the upstairs is bunny supply storage (treats, towels, vinegar spray, etc.) The top got cleared off, my last few bottles from my bottle collection found a home, and pictures were finally hung! All of those are special. Top left is a sheep print from VA that reminds me of my 3 sheep babies, top right is a hand-printed picture Lindsay took of my old cat, Gato, bottom right is a peacock girl print from Lindsay, and bottom left is a smocking piece that my grandma made. My vanilla is also still there, steeping :-)
Here comes the messy part! Hats, gloves, and scarves are living in the big wall hanging. The prints are Ikea. The red desk finally made it inside and now will house the sewing machine and craft supplies. Right now it's just piled with flotsam.
Here's the long view of the crap side. The pile is getting smaller though! My Barbara Arnett dance sword has a proud place over the door :-)
Inside the closet we have my medicine chest and earrings.
And a surprising amount of my craft crap fits in the top of the closet. No, that is not even close to all of my yarn.
This corner is much the same. Fish tank is in a black-out period to kill algae. The big pile is really just a box of vintage sheets (project!) and aprons. Hoarder.
Finally hung up my hair-accessory bins, and pared the bed side table down to just Day of the Dead skulls :-) Good stuff!
What happened to the papisan chair, you ask?
It migrated to the kitchen, where we can now cook and hang out indefinitely :-)
Hope you all are having a good start to your week too!~Sarah
First things first, I decided to make breakfast:
| Bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits |
I also made these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies. They are divine. I'm making a huge batch to bring to work on Halloween for all my poor little dears stuck at work and not out... I dunno.... trick or treating. Or whatever it is that kids do these days. It says to put them in an 11X7, but for a single batch I think I would just do a 9X9 and see if they came out a bit thicker. No pictures because I literally made these instead of getting ready for work, and ran out the door with steaming hot brownies in my paws.
I did a bunch of other stuff, but the bulk of my day was spent trying to to get my room in some semblance of order. I stayed up til 3 last night because I spent an hour and a half folding and putting away clothes, I kid you not. With everything put away (other than a small pile of hanging stuff that is hiding in my closet...), I had a LOT more room to work with and could start really putting things away.
Downsizing from having my stuff spread over pretty much an entire acre to a townhouse is a bit shocking. I've always known I have a lot of stuff, but it's amazing to see it all shoved in a small area. It's also amazing to see how little of it I actually use! I'm trying to be judicious as I unpack and put things away (the Roomie witnessed me recycling an iced tea bottle instead of saving it. I swear!) but also not get rid of things and then have to re-buy them (or worse, regret getting rid of them and NOT being able to replace them.)
So here's a quick run-through of what I've been up to! I also have no shame in showing the piles of stuff still left to do. You'll be able to appreciate my progress as we go :-)
Dresser wall got the most attention of the day.The dresser got cleared of junk (a lot of it was re-located when I freed up space elsewhere.) Then there is the addition of my street-side rescue shelf (holla to Savannah for stopping in the middle of the parking lot for me. You are a true friend to indulge my furniture-rescuing compulsion.) I just used 2 sets of L-brackets to attach it to a stud, easy peasy. The shelf itself is pretty rough, and obviously homemade, but it was free, and it holds stuff, so it works for me!
Here's a close-up of what's on the shelf right now. A lot of random stuff that I'm sure will be moved around. Right now it's my half-dead orchids, my jewelry tray, library books, kids toys, glitter glue, and glue sticks in a tin. The hatbox and winebox are both empty. I'm sure I'll remedy that.
This cute little silver tray works perfectly for catching all kinds of jewelry as I take it off, without risking the cats knocking it around. Salvation Army find!
Moving clockwise is the bunny hutch! I gave up on trying to teach Boo to go up to the second level, so I just took out the ramp and now the upstairs is bunny supply storage (treats, towels, vinegar spray, etc.) The top got cleared off, my last few bottles from my bottle collection found a home, and pictures were finally hung! All of those are special. Top left is a sheep print from VA that reminds me of my 3 sheep babies, top right is a hand-printed picture Lindsay took of my old cat, Gato, bottom right is a peacock girl print from Lindsay, and bottom left is a smocking piece that my grandma made. My vanilla is also still there, steeping :-)
Here comes the messy part! Hats, gloves, and scarves are living in the big wall hanging. The prints are Ikea. The red desk finally made it inside and now will house the sewing machine and craft supplies. Right now it's just piled with flotsam.
Here's the long view of the crap side. The pile is getting smaller though! My Barbara Arnett dance sword has a proud place over the door :-)
Inside the closet we have my medicine chest and earrings.
And a surprising amount of my craft crap fits in the top of the closet. No, that is not even close to all of my yarn.
This corner is much the same. Fish tank is in a black-out period to kill algae. The big pile is really just a box of vintage sheets (project!) and aprons. Hoarder.
Finally hung up my hair-accessory bins, and pared the bed side table down to just Day of the Dead skulls :-) Good stuff!
What happened to the papisan chair, you ask?
It migrated to the kitchen, where we can now cook and hang out indefinitely :-)
| And someone wore herself out with all that work :-) |
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Countdown to Halloween! Pumpkin Carving time!
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