Update!

Friends,

This site is now my craft/creation site. I have moved all personal postings to my other blog 
If you're interested in accessing that site, send me an email & let me know.  I'd be happy to add you.

I used the export/import feature on blogger.com. It wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated, and I'm relieved that things are a little more organized now.

Hope you (still) enjoy!

Mandy

Spring Things

I made some Spring Chick & Egg Peep Cupcakes for Jonas' 1st birthday a couple of years ago.
(YIKES! Has it already been that long!) He is a Spring baby, so I wanted to share my little creations with you. I used noodles and melted marshmallows to create nests similar to "rice krispy treats". Then I perched a Peep marshmallow chick on top, along with a few Malted milk eggs.  Then I placed them on top of a frosted cupcake.

For his first birthday cake I used the edible grass, which is actually kind of tasty, and formed a nest for the peeps and eggs with that. I used Angel food for the cake and cupcakes, because it was his first time to encounter sweets and I thought that would be an okay transition for him. It served its purpose well, but under any circumstance, I would probably recommend a firmer cake recipe.

My mom brought over a lot of fancy party food and it was devoured by guests - as usual. She is an amazing hostess and can whip up some amazing food in no time. She even cut out the sandwiches to look like little ducks. So cute!
I made a center piece with a Springy window flower pot and some floral stems, snipped from a different project. I mounted multi-colored balls to the tops for fun & interest and used moss to cover the foam holding the stems in place. Thank you Dollar Store.


Please enjoy the pics and ideas, but if you repost my pics please let me know! ;) Unfortunately - we didn't have a good camera at the time, but you should be able to get an idea. ;)

Fixn' Chicken

Well,
It's official.
I'm no longer a Chicken Virgin.

It's amazing, but up until this point in my 30 years of life...I've somehow managed to avoid cleaning, stuffing, tying or prying chickens, turkeys or any other poultry for that matter.  It's true that I have eaten my fair share of fowl, but I have managed to avoid the dirty details of fixing most things that look like they do in life...until yesterday.

We purchased some frozen organic chickens a while ago, and he carved one that we made several meals from about a month ago. With freezer storage space at a premium, we decided it was time to cook some more chicken. In all honesty, I've only been avoiding it - because it kind of terrifies me. After my encounter with it yesterday - I understand why. Even though the insides have already been cleaned out - it still kind of grossed me out. I know once it's cooked, I'll feel much better about things, but here's to you little (er..big) chicken.

We found this blog which gave us ideas for 1 chicken, 17 healthy meals at cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com  - check it out here: http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2009/02/1-chicken-17-healthy-meals-26-bucks-no.html.  So, we're giving it a try.

I'm cooking Marcella Hazan’s Roast Chicken with Two Lemons  (recipe at the above site) for dinner tonight with roasted potatoes and carrots.  I'm excited about the rest of the meals to follow later this week. I guess if I'm going to fix my first chicken - I might as well do it right.  Our chicken is a whopping  9.5 lbs!  I am curious to see how long it takes to fully-cook.

I'll let you know how the recipe turns out later! For now....it smells DE-LIC-IOUS! I feel so gross just discussing my carnivorous ways. Oh well ;(

Dear Lord: Please bless this food!
Amen & Happy cooking!

Mandy

My Beautiful Babies

They are the sunshine in my day. ;) Things have been much smoother the past few days.  Thanks for all of your sweet comments & encouragement. I know so many times incidents like the one I mentioned happen to others &  and go unmentioned. Thankfully, I was forgiven in full the night of the event, but it did serve as a wake-up for me - just a friendly reminder of how precious my 2 little gifts are. I cherish every minute of my time with them.

Anyway, I had a couple of goodies to share. I played with picnik photo editing today for the first time, and LOVED it. If you have not tried it yet....you really should. ;) 

I'm thinking of using the following photo for Marin's birth announcements. I know..it's a little late, but it might still be fun. What do you think?

Merry CHRISTmas to all!

Hey everyone! Hope you had a fantastic CHRISTmas full of fun, family and friends. We just wrapped up our final celebration with family and I am feeling overwhelmed with love. ;)

I am planning on posting some of the cool items from my giftbox...I can't resist sharing. The reason for the season is NOT forgotten! Thank you Lord for giving us a reason to celebrate the birth of your son!

I also plan on posting some craft things I've done lately. I just need to organize my life first. I know with the arrival of my little one soon, I'll have a lot of time sitting.....and hopefully some time to organize my pics and thoughts for some tutorials.

I also am looking forward to hopefully starting an Etsy store and Craft group with my family! I have some pretty talented friends and family & can't wait to get together with them to try out some new ideas!

What are you thankful for? What are a few of your favorite things? What are you looking forward to in the New Year?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone! Happy Thanksgiving. I'm slacking on my picture duties lately...and well-aware that this is a no-no for any blogger. ;) So, no pictures today, but I wanted to say that I feel so blessed to have such amazing family and friends. Thank you all for being such a big part of our lives. You are truly loved!

Play kitchen craft-along

I have a fun project to work on...and hope some people will join me. I *may* not get it finished along with the rest of the group, but I will pay close attention the tutorial, and hopefully end up with a new play kitchen eventually.

I wanted to share this great craft-together workshop from "Out of the Crayon Box".

What do you say? If I get good at these, maybe I'll try to do what she does and sell them to raise $ for charities. Sounds fun huh?

Blue's Clues Pumpkin

My little guy came home from his school with a small - but perfect - pumpkin. :)

He immediately asked for a Blue's Clue Pumpkin. I wasn't sure how I was going to carve Blue onto such a small pumpkin, but I was able to paint it. He was excited & he even got to help.

On one side I drew Blue, then painted her in. On the other side, I drew Blue's clue paw print. After the little artist painted away on his side, I filled it in with blue glitter & outlined it with glow-in-the-dark paint. That should be a fun clue for trick-or-treaters!

It was a TON of fun. Go get painting! ;)

Love this site - wanted to share!

I just wanted to share that I found a site today that I might have a little crush on. Mainly because of the possibilities it offers. I am so excited, and can't wait to get to try out some of the fabrics they offer.

They have a blog & a website. Please check them out, then show me what you make! ;)

www.fabricworm.com

http://blogspot.fabricworm.com

Pumpkin Carving Party!!!

Nothing quite says fall like gathering with friends and family to carve some big orange pumpkins! We also ate some festive fall food & finished the evening with pumpkin pie. Perfect!

I made my own owl pattern - and was pretty happy with the way it turned out. All in all - I was pretty impressed with every pumpkin carver's creation. Just wanted to share some of our pics. If you get in the pumpkin carving mood, please share your pics too!