Header Contest

Have I ever told you about MADE?


Dana is a celebrity in bloggy land, and I have the biggest blog-crush on her, if there is such a thing.


I came across her blog because of her circle skirt tutorial  and her summer scarf tutorial.

I know, right?  And it only gets better.  She makes THE. CUTEST. CLOTHES. for her adorable kids.  She teams up with another blogger to do Celebrate the Boy, which is an entire month of boy projects - SO cool!!!

And she's having a contest.

And since I totally love her, I'm participating.  Of course, I had about a thousand ideas I wanted to try.

YAY!!!*shrieking with excitement that Dana will look at 3 headers I designed for her*

Without further ado, my 3 entries, in birth order from oldest to youngest.

I definately flexed my photo-editing muscles for this, and had a BLASTY!  But, so did everyone else, resulting in some serious competition.

BTW, the pic of the daisy was taken with my little ol' Olympus, and that flower is a "weed" growing in our lawn that I wouldn't let hubs mow over. 

I would throw myself a parade even if I make her list of faves!!!  I'll let you know on the 15th when she decides. 

What's that you say?  You want to see a pic of the LL?  You got it!

Wish me luck!!!

Sassy Pasta Salad

Last year on a trip up north I ate a pasta salad with a kick.  I tried to recreate it for our 4th of July family reunion.

disclaimer:
Usually I want to chop one ingredient or less.  This recipe had 4 chopped items.  The hubs chopped 2 (he is awesome).

Ingredients:

Cooked noodles (I made 16 oz and didn't use them all)

4 oz can of chopped black olives

1/2 bottle Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing

also

Make sure the chicken is COOKED before adding it to the salad. 
*You better believe ours is rotisserie!*

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss together to coat well.

Two years ago I was making pasta salads with fried chicken.  I think that would be yummy in this salad.

I think this salad is hearty enough to eat as a stand-alone lunch.

Or for me, as one of my hearty "snacks" before bed.  I eat all the time.



A pic of dressing, I know, but I was trying to get all fancy with my picture-taking skills.  Are you impressed??? 

No pics from the actual cookout, but we had a great time and the weather was perfect!  We spread out a sleeping bag to sit on and at one point there were 12 kids gathered around our LL (little lady) to admire her cuteness. 

And here we are, our first 4th as a family!  The camera is propped on our trash can!  We live such glamorous lives!

I know, I know, no red/white/blue combo, right?  Well LL and I wore dresses to stay cool, which was my only concern for the day.

Also, I love how you can't see that my hair is a huge frizz ball in this pic.  YAY for that!

And, for good measure, one more of the LL.

BTW, I do not have to try creative composition for pics of Ali.  I'm just happy if some of her squirming body ends up in the frame!

Hoping you all had a safe and happy fourth!

Father's Day Footprints Gift



Thankfully holidays come around to force me to have ideas I can blog about.
This is my dad's Father's Day present made with all of his grand kids. 

Too bad this is about, oh, a month late.  But I’m 3 months early for grandparent's day!

I was going to do this as a tutorial, but what else do you say besides

1. paint feet

2. stamp feet

…?

So I’m going to show you through pictures how it came together and how much fun we had.  Check at the bottom for ideas on how to do this successfully yourself.

so much fun (for everyone over two, at least)!

Ideas:

1. Gob on the paint.  Tons and tons.  Or else it prints lightly.
2. Use sponge brushes, not paint brushes.  Have a separate brush for each color paint.
3. You will need one adult per child under 2, and an additional adult to stamp the footprints.
4. If the little one’s footprint smears beyond recognition, add “toes” using your pinkie.
5. An old paintbrush A brand new toy can help a little one stay occupied while you paint a foot. 
6. Have the hose or a bucket filled with soapy water and some towels nearby unless you don't mind painted footprints trailing from your work station to your bathroom.
7. Enlist your awesome brother-in-law to take photos to capture the whole thing for your blog.
8. I smudged a thumbprint on the canvas.  I said it added to the charm.  If something like this happens to you and it bothers you, try sponging the same color on as a border.  Or, just say "it adds to the charm."
9. We wrote "Papas are there at every step," since we couldn't find a quote we loved.  The runner up was the last line from the poem "Footprints in the Sand."

And, of course, a pic of the lovely and her daddy on their very first Father's Day!

I'm linking up!

Photo Album Gift: From Average to Awesome

I wanted to give my friend a photo album for her birthday.  I couldn’t find one I liked at a price I liked.  Then I had an idea…

Time for a photo album makeover!

Start with these items:

Note: my album came from Jo Ann's but maybe you could find one cheaper at the dollar store???

       

Not pictured: Fabri-Tac Glue, which I fell in love with in THIS tutorial. Or hot glue, or whatever glue you prefer.

Step 1:

Use the fabric to cover the album the same way you used to cover textbooks with brown paper bags.

I glued the fabric to the spine and the inside of the front and back cover.

Step 2:

Cut the paper to fit the inside cover of your album, and glue in place to cover the fabric seams.

Step 3:

Glue on your embellishment.

My album came in a clear cover, so I slipped the cover back on.

Slip a gushy note in one of the front photo slots, and BAM, cute personalized album that went from average to awesome!

Thanks for checking out the "Average to Awesome" photo album makeover!

Today I linked up to Be Colorful, Between Naps on the Porch, and Its so Very Cheri.

I'm also partying at...

Mexi-Mountain: a Summer-Time Recipe

Before I post, I just have to say woot to my first follower and first comment!  YAY!

We ate this colorful meal for dinner last night.  The idea came from one of my old college roommates, and morphed into this scrumptious summer-time dinner. 

BONUS: It is healthy, and dairy-free.

***We eat this dinner year round, but it is awesome when we get the main items from people’s gardens for FREE over the summer!

So the recipe is as follows:

MEXI-MOUNTAIN

Serves 4

3 bell peppers (one green and two other colors, this time was red and orange), chopped

1 medium/large tomato, chopped

1/2 of a red onion, chopped

2-3 TBSP olive oil (more or less for taste)

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

1 can black beans, drained

Optional: 4 cooked chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces.

Lime

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450. 

Combine first 5 ingredients in a 9x12 baking dish, toss to coat with the seasoning.

Cover with foil and cook for 40 minutes.

Next, mash the avocado and beans together. 

Divide mixture into quarters and spoon each quarter onto your dinner plates (one quarter per plate), patting down with fork/spoon to make a “bed”.

Scoop cooked vegetable mixture on top of the “bed” of beans and avocado.

If you are using chicken, layer on top now.  Drizzle some of the juices from the cook dish on top of the chicken.  Squeeze lime juice on to taste.

Lick plate clean…

the hubs is a member of the clean-plate club

Editorial comment: We are carb-lovers in this house so we ate food that I did not picture AFTER we were done with this dinner.  Next time, we will try this dinner with CORN BREAD.  We used to eat the early versions of this recipe in crunchy taco shells.

Pretty easy, especially if you use rotisserie chicken. 

And as promised, pics of the lovely.

Hubs and little lady watching Veggie Tales while I eat dinner from the couch, not the table with a pretty place setting as I would have had you believe from the pics above.  Yep, we always eat in shifts, always sitting on the couch.

I'm partying over at Fireflies and Jellybeans.

Babies on the way (shower gift idea)

For my inaugural post, I'm going to share a baby shower gift idea because...

Don't we all just LOVE babies? 

this is my little cutie, and i'm crazy about her!

Something about their tiny little hands and their sweet smell melts our hearts.  We find ourselves willing to do just about anything for a smile and a cuddle. 

And this is why we fawn over pregnant women, who are a symbol of the most beautiful miracle imaginable.  Plus, belly bumps are amazingly cute. 

***Of course, when you can't fit into any of your clothes, can't stop crying during commercials for diapers, and haven't made it through one night without having to waddle to the bathroom for a potty break, you don't much feel like a walking miracle.*** 

me, 6 months preggers, before I was huge and scary

 I am lucky enough to have MANY MANY MANY pregnant women in my life. 
Which got me thinking...

My fabulous IDEA:
I had the great idea of making a checklist for what belongs in a diaper bag. 
(I make and use these sorts of checklists all the time.  When I don't, I end up wherever I am supposed to be without anything I am supposed to have.)
And then, the even GREATER idea was to buy these items as a shower gift for one of these new mommas.  Yep, I know, GREAT IDEA, Amber!

And the last of the great ideas here (I'm so on a roll) is to share the list with you, so you can use it, share it, use it as an IDEA for a shower gift, or all of the above! 

fyi - I did include this list in the gift bag with the goodies I purchased, which were NOT every single item on the list.

**disclaimer: I'm in Michigan along with all of my new-momma friends, and there is a small refernece to this.  Feel free to ignore it!

In the diaper bag

• Diapers (duh) – twice as many as you think you will need
• Wipes
• Changing pad
• Diaper rash cream, lotion, antibacterial hand gel, baby powder, sunscreen, q-tips
• Extra baggie for soiled diapers
• Spare outfit in case of spit-up/poop everywhere (which is inevitable) Don’t forget mitts, socks and bib
• Extra baggie for soiled clothes
• Burp cloths
• Receiving blanket
• Bottles and pre-measured formula, water, or nursing pads and nursing cover
• Spare pacifier and clip
• Toy, little snacks (these are more important in the 6+ mo range)
• Pacifier wipes
• Hat (a spare one you don’t like all that much but have just in case it was 65 when you walked into Meijer and 35 when you walked out.  This is Michigan, after all.)
• Stuff for you – snack, gum, bottle of water

And here is a pic of the items I gave to the hubs' cousin (one of my preggers ladies).

Extra cute ideas:

-buy the diaper bag and include these items and the checklist inside

-include something handmade like this paci clip or this wipes case (SO CUTE)!

OK, veteran mommas,aunties, grandmas, and the rest, can you think of anything else that goes on the list?  What belongs in the diaper bag?