School Pictures Apron Dress

I had bought some fabric a while back to make an apron dress.  I had a vintage tea towel in my stash that I had my eye on as a perfect "apron" for the dress.  After having my second child, I discovered that sewing time was much harder to come by!  So in the sewing room the fabric sat, for at least two months.  I finally decided to make it for LJ's school photo, but then time got away from me and I didn't get to it until the NIGHT before!!!  Eek!  Well, I am surprised to say that I was able to squeeze it out in less than two hours, lined bodice and all!

She got a cookie for this pose!

back tie

buttons to close shoulders, decorative bow at waist

Using her make-up brushes on her sister, my little budding make-up artist!

Wine-terest night (cheesy name alert!)

I mentioned my new idea for hanging out with my friends in a past post!  I am finally getting around to sharing the result of my first Wine-terest night!

Drink wine.  Make your pins.  It's simple!

My friend Aimee and I had not really hung out since we were pre-teens.  Our parents went to high school together so we grew up hanging out.  Well, after many Facebook comments and mutual pins on Pinterest, I was like....hey, I have an epiphany- LETS ACTUALLY HANG OUT!!!! hahah!!!  Technology is great, but it makes me lazy.  I've got people I talk to on Facebook that I hardly hang out with in "real" life!  To remedy that, I had the idea to keep an eye out for things a friend and I both pin, then setting a date to get together and actually make it and hang out.  Bonus points for wine and snacks :)
Here was the pin we both loved:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/81650613/autumn-fall-tulle-wreath-a-must-see?ref=sr_gallery_34&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=autumn&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

 

 

It is an esty shop if you want to go buy one!  I pu the link under the photo for your convenience and to give credit where due.
Aimee and I had a great time catching up, and here is what we came up with!

On the left is Aimee's cute fluffy one, and on the right is my "stripey" one.  Both cute!

We decided they could double as lion's manes.

So get pinning, hang with your friends, and have a great time!!!

Single Serve Shortbread recipe using Nectresse natural sweetener!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of NECTRESSE™Sweetener for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have always been on the hunt for a natural no calorie sugar replacer, and I think I have found my favorite so far!  NECTRESSE™ is a 100% natural sweetener and its the only one made from fruit- monk fruit extract.  I also love that you can grab it at your local store, no need for a special trip to the health food store!

NECTRESSE™Sweetener

I decided to put it to the test in a few ways.  First, I tried some in my morning coffee- and it passed with flying colors!

Then I sent a sample to my Dad, who has type 2 diabetes.  He tried it this morning and liked that it didn't have a funny aftertaste like a lot of other no calorie sweeteners.  I guess I know I will be using NECTRESSE™ to make him a treat for Thanksgiving!

The final test was to try it in one of my favorite sweets recipes- this is the BIG test for a sweetener because of baking.  So I went for an all-time favorite, SHORTBREAD!!!  I decided to make a single-serving portion recipe for those of you like me who are watching our calories.  No leftovers to nibble on!  Of course, the NECTRESSE™ makes it much lower calories too!

Single Serving Whole Wheat NECTRESSE™ Shortbread

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F

 

Ingredients:

-2 tablespoons organic butter, chilled

-4 tablespoons organic whole wheat flour

-5 packets (1 tablespoon) NECTRESSE™

 

Step One:

Place ingredients in a small food processor (I have a small manual one that I love!)  Process until butter is rice-sized.

Step Two:

Use your hands to knead into a dough.

Step Three:

Shape if desired (I made mine a heart!)  Then prick with a fork.

Step Four:

Bake for 40 minutes.

Step Five:

EAT!!!  I broke mine in two to share with my husband, guess who took the bigger half???

 

So I guess you are wondering, did it pass my taste test?  YES!  In fact, I almost think I could cut back one of the packets because it has such a nice sweet flavor you can use less.  Want to taste for yourself?  SInce I can't come to all of your houses bearing NECTRESSE™ treats, you can get a free sample and try it for yourselves!  I'd love to hear what you make.

FREE sample of NECTRESSE™Sweetener

sweetener

 

Still need more convincing?  The always fantastic Lisa Ling loves NECTRESSE™!  Check out this video of her telling you what she thinks.

I'm going to grab the canister next time I'm at my local grocery store so I can save the packets I have left for my coffee and use the canister for baking.  So glad to have had the opportunity to try out NECTRESSE™ since I hadn't heard about it yet!

Have a great day!

What I've been up to...

Hi!  I have been enjoying my blog break but I definitely miss it!  It seems that even with #1 in preschool 2 days a week I am still not caught up enough to blog much.  BUT I am also really spending time with my family and keeping my priorities right, so that feels good.  I can always blog a lot more when they are older.

Stella's first time on the swing!

We discovered that Daddy had a cameo in Madagascar!

We've had lots of quality "cousin time".

Things I would have blogged about if I had time-
-I had a toddler busy bag exchange!!!
-I hosted a Pampered Chef party and earned some free stuff! (turns out my friends didn't mind Pampered Chef, they liked it!  I hate these kinds of parties normally)
-I created a fantastic butternut squash tart with caramelized onions, sage, and goat cheese.  Hopefully I can take pics next time I make it and share it here.

And am upcoming post....Wine-terest night with a friend!  I am having my first Wine-terest night which is....when a friend and I pin the same craft, I invite them over to drink wine and actually MAKE the thing we pinned!  hahahah!!! We are making a cute Fall tulle wreath. 

Garage Sale/Consignment tips!!!

So, lately I have discovered online garage sales- its like Craigslist, only more local!  There are these pages on Facebook with special interests- for example, baby and kids items, car parts, etc.  Some are more general.  Lately I have scored the following:
5 pairs of Children's Place jeans for $10
20 brand name kids items for $20 (shirts, jackets, pants, etc.)
A bag of toddler clothes (5 pants, a dress, several shirts), all brand name plus a reversible pink wool coat for $35

SCORE!!!  So my almost-3-year old is set for Fall very cheap!  And this is gently used stuff, some looks brand new.  I have also sold some things and gotten a lot more for them than I would have at a traditional garage sale.  One lady didn't even try to bargain with me and paid $20 for a toy!  Yup- $20!  And another lady bought some maternity clothes for me and paid $80.  Definitely more than I would have gotten at a resale shop., and cash in my pocket!

Moral of the story- if you have time, try out the Facebook garage sales!  You do have to arrange to meet up with people but so far I have had success.  Be smart about it, pick a very public place!

Now, onto consigning.  Everyone knows the shops don't give you much and reject half you items.  I am participating in a big weekend consignment sale in a couple weeks and can't wait to see how I do.  I only get to keep 60% of what they sell it for, plus there is a lot of prep work- logging items into a computer program, printing and attaching tags, hanging things "just so" on a wire hanger....I am skeptical but we'll see if its worth it.  I will let you know!

DO you have any garage sale-ing or consignment tips to share?  Please comment below!

Also- LJ starts preschool this week so you will probably be seeing more posts out of me soon!!!

I'm Still here...

I'm still here, but I haven't been blogging lately.  It seems with two kids it has been a lot more work than it used to be, and I really want it to be fun!  So you will still see posts from me every now and then when I finish a project that I remember/have time to photograph, but I am not going to do all the linky parties and all those blogging things that seem to take a lot of time. 
I think once they are both in school more I will have time to actually take it seriously again!
Thanks for being interested in my projects and for reading :)
Catherine

Tomato Season! 10 ideas for tomatoes.

 

I definitely LOVE a good tomato, who doesn't?  (Okay, I know there are some non-tomato lovers out there but I'm not one of them.)

The best tomato is, in my opinion, one grown in my parent's backyard garden.  These are the tomatoes I grew up eating and they were sweet, and warm, and sometimes ripened on my mom's kitchen windowsill.

Imagine my horror when after purchasing our home, my husband and I discovered that we had no sun anywhere!!!  No garden!!!  I can grow shade plants only.  There is a tiny bit of sun the peeks through our mature trees every now and then so I tried to grow tomatoes in buckets in a wheelbarrow that I would wheel into the sun throughout the day.  Needless to say, it didn't work for several reasons!  So now I am at the mercy of my relatives and friends who have sunny yards (shout-out to Jill for the grape tomatoes I photographed above, then ate!)

Even without an overabundance of my own tomatoes, I know that those with gardens sometimes have more than they can handle.  So ideas 1-10 are "send them to me"...just kidding (kinda).

I linked to sources where necessary!

1. Make your own salsa and give it as gifts.  Can it!  Here is a canning-safe recipe from Ball.  I try to follow canning recipes pretty closely for safety reasons.  This would make a great little gift with some homemade tortillas, dried peppers from your garden, and homemade taco seasoning. (Mix salt, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and red pepper to taste).

2.  Caprese salad.  A favorite at my house!  Have you seen all the variations on Pinterest lately?  I love the one where you use a toothpick and thread the basil, a cherry tomato, and a tiny mozzarella ball on it.  Drizzle with olive oil, quality balsamic, and a bit of salt and pepper.  For a traditional version, use a larger tomato cut into slices, large ball of mozzarella slices, basil leaves (I roll them and smash a little to get the flavors out!) then drizzle with the same stuff.

3.  Homemade pasta sauce.  This is easier than it sounds.  It works best of you peel the tomatoes (cut out stem, cut an x in the bottom, drop in boiling water then pull out immediately and plunge in ice water).  Then simmer the tomatoes, olive oil, wine, herbs, garlic, and some tomato paste.  There are ENDLESS variations, that's why no recipe.  Perhaps I will actually measure my recipe out next time but I make it different every time based on what I have on-hand!

4.  Juice them- Have you ever juiced tomatoes?  My mom used to juice hers and can the juice to use in soups.  I would probably go more for a nice fresh Bloody Mary at brunch though :)

5.  Use them to dye fabric!  Here is an ehow article on dying things with natural objects.  I have heard of brightening red hair with tomatoes too, but my hair isn't red so I didn't try it, haha!

6.  Tomato sandwich.  I feel like this is a Midwest thing?  Let me know if you are outside the Midwest and eat these too.  It's just tomato, salt, pepper, and mayo on bread.  You could also get wild and make a nice BLT.  I would use some locally produced bacon, yummy!

7.  Roasted cherry or grape tomatoes.  This is a great side dish!  Simply toss with olive oil and fresh minced garlic and roast in the oven at 400 degrees F until they burst.  Salt to taste.

8.  Healthy lunch- slice up a big ripe tomato and top with cottage cheese.  I think I could eat this every day.

9.  Pizza Margherita- Make some pizza dough, pre-bake it a bit, then top with tomato slices, basil leaves, fresh minced garlic, and drizzle with olive oil.  Then place some tiny mozzarella balls on top and bake!

10.  Tomato facial- Tomatoes are high in antioxidants, and they are acidic!  So rub one into your face, let it soak in for bit, then rinse off.  This will make your skin nice and glow-y and should help with minimizing pores!  (If you have sensitive skin you might want to test a tiny amount first!)

I hope I helped you put all those yummy tomatoes to good use!  Share your favorite tomato recipes below!